Because We All Have Secrets
by TheLockness
Summary: Physically, Ava appears to be just another normal angst-filled teenager. But Ava's gift marks her far from normalcy. Her presence in Mystic Falls catches Damon Salvatore's interest - and well know that's never a good thing. OCxDamon
1. Chapter 1

I find most things in life bittersweet. People seem to forget that they can love and hate the same exact thing all too easily. Thus is the problem always eminent in my life; I love and hate almost everything that I come into contact with. I always play devil's advocate in every scenario because disregarding the negatives is one thing I never do.

I approached a red light and brought my feet to the hot asphalt road, balancing my motorcycle, and taking this time to survey the town. The shaded lenses on my helmet blocked the harsh sunlight as I watched the people file down the sidewalk, walk briskly in and out of quaint stores, and loiter noisily with their friends.

_God it's so hot outside. Why did I wear polyester again?_

_Her hair is disgusting. I hope he doesn't think I'm like that. I'm nothing like my friends._

_What time was I supposed to be home?_

_Shit Caroline is so fucking hot today. The things I would do to that girl._

Of course, I thought. I divulge too long into people's thoughts and I pick up something racy and inappropriate. 80% of people's thoughts are filled with something sexual. Or maybe I just hang around all the wrong people.

The thought alone brought a sly smile to my face.

The light turned green and I revved my motorcycle's engine loud, causing everyone outside to turn at the noise. I accelerated sharply, sliding through the streets at speeds twice the limit, introducing the residents of Mystic Falls to their newest member.

* * *

I held up the old Polaroid and then squinted back at the house in front of me. The house in the picture looked more, well, clean for one thing. I suppose the moss and mold growing on the wooden panels had changed the color from white to an almost greenish haze and the lawn had at one point been taken care of. In fact, I'm sure the entire house had once been taken care of but right now it looked like someone hadn't lived in it for over a century.

I hopped off my bike and made my way up the path of the dead grass to the front door. The wooden porch creaked with every step I took as I got closer and closer. I shrugged - at least I would know when someone decides to pay me a visit. I dug deep into the back pocket of my jeans and pulled out a single key. I inserted it into the lock, twisted hard, and pushed the door.

Except it wouldn't budge. I put both of my hands on the door and pushed again but once again the door wouldn't move. I sighed and blew my bangs out of my face. Grabbing the doorknob and twisting it, I jammed my shoulder into the door with all the force I had. The door flew open and I followed it, falling into the room and crashing into the floor.

I loved this house already.

I picked myself up and looked around. Musty, old furniture was laid around carelessly, with no organizational pattern or even color coordination. There was a large, three-seater sofa in the center of the room, sitting on top of a red, shag carpet. There was also a lone, blue armchair in the corner and an oak, empty bookshelf, which depending how long I stayed here will grow increasingly with books.

I looked over at the front door and saw only a single, rusty lock. To be honest, it provided the same security as fifteen MasterLocks. Those locks are only for those who need the self reassurance that they are safe and secure in their homes, that no criminal or malicious person can enter as long as those locks are properly working.

Little do they know that all you have to do is not invite them in.

* * *

About an hour later, after I had emptied everything in my large bag at the house, which was filled personal knickknacks I carried from house to house, I made my way back into town to search for more furniture for the house. I had about a hundred dollars, which was enough to buy a couple of old yet still working things. I rode into town and found a nice used furniture store hidden in between a restaurant called Mystic Grill and a pharmacy.

I parked in front on the Grill and turned it off. I reached my hands, placing them on the rim of my helmet to take it off, when my hands stopped as a single word from a nearby thought flew into my mind.

_Vampire._

My heartbeat quickened and I felt my palms become slightly damp. It wasn't as if Ihadn'theard the word before. I've been hearing other's thoughts my entire life; I was bound to come across the weirdest shit in the world. At first I didn't believe it - people think of mythical creatures, Greek Gods, and other wacky shit all the time.

But nothing is like reading a vampire's mind. The first time I read a vampire's mind it was a newborn's. His mind was filled with nothing but thoughts about craving blood, ripping necks, sucking that sweet liquid from every vein present in the human body. It was a little gorey to say the least.

You can't always believe what people say, let alone what they think. I've come across the sickest and weirdest thoughts and after coming across a vampire's, I don't know what's true or false. It's hard to distinguish what really reality is when its filled with fables.

I traced the thought coming from a slightly tan, skinny girl with shimmering brown hair. Standing outside by the front door, she was surrounded by another boy, presumably her boyfriend by the way he stared at her so adoringly (which made my stomach sick but I try to ignore teenage romanticism as much as possible), who matched her attractiveness with fluffy brown hair and dark, oval eyes. They were alone, talking close to each other, whispering quietly, yet their thoughts were louder then anyone in the entire room. It was panicked, heightened with tension and exasperation.

I stood still on my bike, hoping they wouldn't notice that I was stalling and listening into to what their minds were chattering about.

_Stefan, please, I just wish you'd let me help you. You're so weak without human blood._

_I can't have a sip. A single sip of that delicate bloo-NO. God no. No no no._

_I bet Damon is behind the killings. Why can't he stop attacking people for once?_

_If only Elena could comprehend the pain I go through drinking animal blood. It is nothing like human…_

Well, at least there was one tame vampire in this town. And he's with the human girl, how cute. It's like Twilight threw up in Mystic Falls and was remolded for this Elena and Stefan.

But there's more than one vampire here. A Damon - who seems to not follow in the same footsteps as Stefan and instead go for human blood. I'm not one for killing vampires, I'm not fucking Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it's not something I enjoy doing or even want to do. But if I plan on living in this town for a little while, I would prefer to not be sucked on my neck by a vampire. I kinda look forward to growing old and being a cool mom with even cooler children.

Does that mean I'm going to find Damon? Spend all my time hunting this dangerous vampire? Yeah right. I'm just saying - if this guy decides to trap me in an alley one day, I will drive a stake in his heart quicker then he knows it. Which means I'll need a stake. I'll put that on my to-do list.

I hopped off my bike, taking off my helmet and placing on the rear of my bike. This town looks to nice to steal any helmets so the fact that I left it abandoned was no care to me. I briskly walked past the couple, not looking at them once, past the Grill, and into the used furniture store.

It was completely empty when I entered. Small yet spacious enough, a lone cashier who looked like a sweet, old grandfather stood behind the cash register and smiled at me as I entered.

"Well hello there miss," he said kindly. "How are you this fine afternoon?"

"I'm great," I said as I walked over to the furniture pilled by the wall, scanning them quickly, "And yourself sir?"

"Oh, just dandy," he said warmly. "You know I've lived here forty years and I don't believe I've ever seen you before. Are you visiting a family member?"

I picked up a small, antique bronze clock then set it back down when I saw how much it cost. "Actually, no," I said, turning to face the old man. "I just moved in to town today."

"Well welcome miss," he said, extending his hand for me to shake. I took it and we shook hands. "I'm Oliver Thorn but everyone just calls me Olly. I hope Mystic Falls treats you as well as it has to me."

"I've Avari but everyone can't pronounce it correctly so they just call me Ava," I said, happily. I like old people - they were so sincerely nice.

I heard a snicker from the opposite end of the room. Not remembering anyone there when I entered, I zipped my head towards the sound and I almost toppled over.

A man, obviously well built, insanely gorgeous with his black, layered hair and piercing blue eyes emerged from a shadow created by a large dresser. He crossed his arms, the leather of his black jacket rubbing together, and he leaned against the dresser as he eyed me provocatively.

Despite his appearance (which I might add was hard to ignore), there was something completely strange and bewildering about this guy. And whenever I find something strange my curiosity grows. I raised an eyebrow at his behavior then focused my eyes, ready to dive into whatever thoughts floated through his head.

Yet nothing came back. It was blank. Before I could even access the situation he was speaking.

"Ava," he said slowly, "What an odd name. Quite odd indeed."

"Ah Mister Salvatore," said Olly, seeming surprised as well at this guy's arrival. "I didn't see you back there."

"Just looking for some things for the place," said the guy. His eyes narrowed as they left mine and he gave Olly a look of a complete concentration, of wildness, of sharpness, a look I've seen only one too many times before. "In fact, do you mind going in the back room and looking for that picture frame I ordered a week ago Olly? That would be great."

Olly immediately got up and vanished into the back room. But I knew that would happen. Trances are 100% effective on every human but me.

He looked back down at me and he smiled mischievously. I, on the other hand, was not down to play games with this guy. Sure, he was the most attractive, sexiest, good-looking - okay okay, you get the picture, but I was not going to fall into that trap.

"I'm Damon Salvatore," he said, introducing himself.

I wanted to smack myself in the face. _Of courseeeeeeeeee._

I turned on my heel and made my way towards the exit of the store. I flung open the door and walked out onto the sidewalk, allowing the cool breeze to whisk around my black hair and sting my mossy colored eyes.

"You know that's quite rude," Damon said, by my side a second later.

"I think it's quite acceptable considering the circumstances," I said sharply.

"The circumstances?" he asked, still playing sly yet with a hint of confusion.

The fact that I can't read your mind while I can read everyone else's. The fact that I think you're like a delicious combination of Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, and Orlando Bloom all rolled up into a single man. The fact that there is great chance you could kill me in a split second because you're a blood-thirsty, body wrecking vampire. Those circumstances.

But I chose to ignore him. Repeating those things would not be healthy or beneficial. Thank God no one can read my mind.

We walked past the couple still by the door of the Grill, who quickly noticed Damon and my presence and were hot on our heels too.

"Damon," said the one guy who's name I think was Stefan. He grabbed Damon's jacket to pull him away but Damon quickly pulled back. "What are you doing?" Stefan looked at me as if I was prey about to be devoured.

The girl Elena just stood there, looking back and forth between the two men. I hopped on my bike and hooked my helmet to the rear of the bike so that it was secure.

"I'm just introducing myself to the new girl in town, little brother," Damon said mock-sweetly. "Ava, this is Stefan, my younger and unattractive brother, and this is his lovely girlfriend Elena."

I wanted to scream. Vampire brothers? I am great at picking towns to live in.

"Would you like to come into the Grill with us? A free mea-" Damon started.

"Listen," I said, interrupting him and using a tone that caused all three to look at me strangely, "You," I pointed to Damon, "and you" I pointed to Stefan, "don't ever talk to me again."

Damon dropped his sly act. He looked at me curiously, intrigued by my behavior, that I was not succumbing to his devilishly good looks or his sexy smooth talking. The fact that it was doing the exact opposite of what was intended struck him as more then odd but unnatural.

"Look, I'm sorry for whatever he did-" Stefan started but once again I interrupted someone's sentence.

"I'm not interested vampire boy," I said, addressing both of them.

They faltered, both of their mouths opened in complete shock.

"Have a good night!" I said mock-cheerily, starting my bike and shooting out into the streets.


	2. Chapter 2

I stayed up all night thinking about why and how I couldn't read Damon's mind. I have never had this problem before - I could read everyone's mind in a split second, dive into their thoughts and inner secrets. But I couldn't do it with him. When I had tried it was as if I had just run into a cement wall and I couldn't push myself to the other side.

It scared me to say the least. I mean, of all the kinds of people I came into contact with, to not be able to read a vampire's mind was terrifying. It meant I was vulnerable and I hated being vulnerable.

I clutched my bed sheet angrily as I stared at the ceiling. And he pissed me off more then anyone else I know. He didn't even say much - it was just that way he carried himself, the way his face looked, the way his mouth moved when he spoke.

I slammed my arms down on my bed wildly and grunted. Why did he aggravate me so fucking much? I had seen him two days ago yet he was on my mind the entire time since then. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't concentrate, I couldn't do a single thing without Damon running through my mind.

I got up from my bed and looked at the digital clock on the floor next to my mattress. It was 3:18 AM and I hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. This guy was going to be the death of me.

I got up and put on an old sweater laying on a heap of clothes on the floor. I entered the living room, grabbed a copy of 'Crime and Punishment' from the bookcase, turned on the porch light outside, then exited my house. I sat down on loveseat wooden bench that was placed next to the front door, turning sideways and stretching my legs fully on the bench as I opened the book and began to re-read one of my favorite books.

Fortunately for me, I only got through five pages when a voice I thought came from my imagination filled my ears.

"Well hello."

I looked up, away from my book, and standing there on my porch, with his arm loosely hanging around one of the wooden pillars, was Damon Salvatore, looking as amazing as ever. Yet this time was different. He wasn't wearing that chauvinistic smirk and his eyes weren't filled with uncaring emotions. It was completely opposite - his eyes were piecing and bold, his face sharp and prominent, a mixture of joy, confusion, surprise, and emotions I couldn't even figure out.

_Swwwwwwwwwwwwoooooooooon._

I couldn't help myself. Despite trying so hard to not talk to him and be rude and ignore him, it was incredibly hard to do so when it was just him and I, on my porch, instead of a store or on the middle of the street.

"Hello Mister Salvatore," I said nonchalantly, turning back to my book although not being able to read a single word with his presence standing so near.

"Please, just call me Damon," he said and I didn't need to look at him to know that the smirk had resurfaced.

"Oh but I love formality," I said, still not looking at him. "It's so proper. I love the historic times when people used to talk like that. But of course, you would know more about that then I would."

"You're rambling," he said slyly.

"And you're an old fart," I said angrily. "How old are you anyway?"

"Care to wager a guess?"

"Do I win anything if I guess correctly?"

"Ah but of course Ava."

I liked the way he said my name. It made my insides burn and flush. Hopefully he wouldn't be able to sense or notice the way he made me feel. Hopefully I can ignore the way he makes me feel.

I put down my book and looked straight into Damon's eyes. I saw him falter for a brief second but quickly regain his composure and slide back into that mischievous personality he seemed to conquer.

"You're Italian but Americanized enough not to completely associate with your Italian background which means you were probably born here and your parents born in Italy. You look bored and slightly agitated, but most importantly, lonely, which means you've been around for quite some time. You seem comfortable in this place which means you probably lived here when the town was first founded," I said, blurting out everything that I had been thinking over the past couple of days.

"So," I said, taking a breath and continuing, "I'd say mid 1800s, maybe a little before that."

He instantly dropped the boyish act. There a minute of pure silence as he stared at me and I back at him.

"What are you," he asked, his voice low and quiet.

"I'm Ava and I am blessed in the departments of beauty and brains," I said lightly.

Yet he didn't seem to take on to my small humorous quip. His face was still and filled with curiosity. Then I saw his eyes change, become sharper and wider, his lips fall into a straight line.

I sighed and glared at him, frustrated that he would even attempt to use that stupid trance on me to extract information from me.

"That doesn't work on me," I said angrily. "You can stop with your little weird eye trancey look." I got up, slammed by book shut and looked him right in the eyes. "Good night Damon."

I turned around and made my way to the door but his arm grabbed my bicep and I was turned around as if I weighed nothing more then a feather.

"I don't understand," he said.

"That makes two of us," I responded softly.

I slipped out of his grasp and opened my front door, walking inside and closing it behind me. I leaned against the front door and sighed, closing my eyes and trying to calm myself down.

There was a knock on the window next to the front door. I opened my eyes and looked left seeing Damon's face close to the window. He waved and smirked.

I opened the window and smiled mockingly.

"You really have a knack for just leaving in the middle of a conversation," he said.

"Years of practice," I said.

He sat down on the wooden bench on the porch and I leaned into the window, placing my elbows on the window sill and putting my chin in my palms.

"So was I right?" I asked.

"Right about what?"

"About your age."

"Dead on."

"Hmmm," I said, tapping my index finger on my chin. "What shall be my prize?"

"How about a free meal?" Damon asked. He looked past me and surveyed the living room, which had still yet to be furnished or fixed up, as I had been, er, preoccupied lately. "Looks like you don't get those enough."

"If you are inferring that my current living situation is sub par, I am deeply offended."

"You don't like vampires do you?" he questioned with a teasing glint in his eye.

"I also don't like murderers and rapists," I responded. "God, there must be something _wrong_ with me."

"Har har," Damon said, rolling his eyes and smiling. "You just have an answer for everything don't you?"

"I'm just naturally talented I suppose," I said, sighing and pushing my bangs out of my face. "And I don't want a free meal from a vampire. That's just too ironic."

"It is isn't it?"

"Very much so."

"So what is it that you want?" he asked and while there was something quite obviously that I wanted (more like someone), I chose something else that had been an option.

"A TV," I said triumphantly.

His face fell and he rolled his eyes again. "You want a television?"

"I think it'll make the place more homey," I said, extending my arm towards the room as if it was on a showcase. "Don't you think so?"

"Why don't you invite me in and I'll answer that question?"

"Ouch, strike two Mister Salvatore. Did you really think I would fall for that one?"

"It was worth a shot," he breathed out, slumping against the house. Pieces of his hair fell across his forehead and brushed against his eyebrows.

"I would like a TV on my doorstep in the next 24 hours and I hope that you can honor your bet," I said, standing up from the window and placing my hands on it.

"Oh I always do."

"I sense sarcasm. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that's something you use quite often."

"You know," Damon said, leaning in as far as he could, which wasn't much considering he could not physically enter my house without my permission. "You seem a little tense. I can help with that."

"And that is strike three. You have successfully peaked on the creepy meter, congratulations," I said. I brought my head down so that are faces were not more then a couple of inches apart. "Good night Damon."

And with that I shut the window and closed the drapes securely. I turned off the light in the living room, headed back to my bedroom, plopped down on the shitty mattress and closed my eyes, hoping to at least get an hour of sleep before I started school the next day.


	3. Chapter 3

I was late. I mean, of course I was late, when wasn't I?

I kicked open the front door of my house, all while with my knee up high, attempting to tie one of my shoes, and having a piece of toast hanging from my mouth. My book bag was slung over my shoulder and I was pretty sure I looked like quite a disheveled mess.

I quickly locked the front door and turned around.

"Good morning and salutations Miss Ava."

I groaned and rolled my eyes. There was Damon Salvatore, standing in the middle of my unpleasant lawn, dressed in the usual black, leather jacket and dark jeans, his hair perfect and his body hard and still. And, of course, a smirk dabbling from his lips.

"Damon, it's sunny out. Why aren't you dead?" I asked as I walked down the porch. "No offense," I continued as I walked past him, not waiting for him to follow, which he did.

"I've got a pretty little ring that protects this pretty little body," he answered.

He followed me down the sidewalk, looking back over his shoulder, then back at me. "Not taking the bike?" he asked. "I thought eating the bugs would be your morning breakfast."

"I opted for toast," I said, raising the piece of toast in my hand.

Damon soon joined my side and synchronized his steps with mine.

"And to what do I owe this pleasure?" I asked.

"Oh I felt like accompanying a lonely girl to school this morning. Walking by yourself is so dangerous nowadays and I want to make sure you get there safely."

I spit out my toast and burst out laughing. I mean, that was just _too_ funny. I had to give him credit - for being a blood-thirsty, murderous, crazy vampire, he was comical.

I thought I almost heard him laugh too and maybe a quiver of an actual, genuine smile but it disappeared all too soon.

"I know, I'm whitty and desirable," he said. "Please try to control yourself."

"Someone's got a big head," I remarked.

"It's also beautifully d-"

_Oh God, Oh God, I'm so scared. I can't do it. But I'm so hungry. I need….I need to do it or I'll starve._

I stopped dead in my tracks, causing Damon to stop speaking and stare at me.

"What are you doing?" he asked, looking at me as if I was crazy.

I looked around, through the throngs of people populating the town streets at this time, trying to find the source of the thought. Thoughts from everyone generally float freely in and out of my mind but there are some that are just filled so heavily with panic or weary or fear that they become prominent and significant. And I can't tear myself away.

_I'll do it when no one is looking. I've never handled a gun before. I'll be in and out, in and out._

"Hello?" Damon asked. His face popped up right in front of me and I stopped gazing around. "Ava? What's going on?"

"I, uh, what?" I asked, standing on my tippy toes and looking over Damon's shoulder, desperately searching for the owner of the thoughts that seemed over the edge.

Damon's eyebrows crinkled and he tried to follow my gaze and find what I was looking at.

I looked and I looked but I couldn't find anything suspicious. But my anxiety still grew and I felt like I was missing it.

And then I saw him. Hunched behind a trashcan, wearing a dirty, hole-infested overcoat and a muggy, stinky cap covering most of his face, he was staring straight at a clothing store right next to him. And he was holding something but it was concealed underneath his coat.

"Damon!" I said quickly, causing him to turn his head at me sharply and his face twinged when he saw how freaked I was.

"You are seriously creeping me-"

"Him!" I pointed quickly at the old homeless man. "You have to-"

But it was too late. He burst in through the door and a second later, there were shots of gunfire going off like crazy. People in the streets started screaming and yelling, shoving past each other, every man for themselves.

Before I even had a chance to react, Damon wrapped his arms around me, barricading me in his chest, muffling my face into his shirt. I was unable to see anything but my hair flew around me as if I was flying.

It was over in a second. My breathing had picked up and I felt as if I was wheezing. My legs felt shaky and so many things had just happened in the last 5 seconds that it was like I wasn't even there, as if I had just imagined it.

"You can let go of me now," Damon whispered in my ear.

I picked my head off his chest and looked down, noticing that my arms were wrapped tightly around his torso and we were completely compacted together. I yanked myself away and took several steps back. And then I saw that I was standing right next to my school, which was just across town when we were in the middle of the square like a second ago.

"You're welcome, jeez," Damon said, rolling his eyes.

I didn't say anything but my mouth was wide open, as I still couldn't get over what happened.

"So," Damon said, bringing his arms up and stretching. "Care to fill me in on how you knew that was going to happen? That would help a lot since I just saved your life and everything."

Okay _now_ I was back on Earth.

"You didn't save my life," I said crossly.

"Eh, I beg to differ," Damon said, smirking at me and crossing his arms across his chest.

"Well in that case, I'm so mortified by my," I picked up my hands and made air quotations as I said the next three words, "'life-and-death' incident that I don't have any clue what you're talking about." I turned around and started to head towards the front door of the school.

"Okay okay," Damon said quickly, grabbing my bicep and pulling me back around. "You're really starting to annoy me you know."

"I'm sorry. I've been told I have a big personality."

Damon's smirk grew. "Ava-"

The bell inside the school rang and students started to file inside.

"Damn!" I said mock-angry. "Is it school time already?" I slipped out of his grasp. "Bye Damon." I turned on my heel and walked up the stone steps into the school.

* * *

"No I'm _new_," I repeated slowly to the old school secretary, who was having trouble distinguishing anything I said. "Not _blue_, I'm _new_."

"Sweetie if you're under the weather you'll have to go to the nurse," she said, smiling at me and staring at me underneath those giant, goggle glasses.

I slapped my hand to my cheek and moaned. I was going to be late to class if I had to keep handling this lady, which didn't seem to even come close to ending any time soon.

A presence quickly joined my side.

"She needs her schedule Mrs. Corning," Stefan said, staring deep into her eyes. Her eyes widened as she looked back into his eyes and, after a brief second of looking lost or deep in concentration, she grabbed a nearby piece of paper and handed it to me.

"There you go dear," Mrs. Corning said. "Have a good day!"

"Thanks," I said quickly to Stefan, only looking at him for a brief moment before walking out of the office and down the hallway.

I opened my schedule and looked at the first class - **Calculus, Room 115**. Oh great, math. I just love solving equations at 7 in the morning.

I folded my schedule and stuck it in my back pocket, all while looking at the door numbers and trying to find a pattern so I could find my class.

"It's this way," I heard Stefan say.

I stopped and looked over my shoulder. He was standing there with a warm smile, obviously a desperate attempt to befriend me or to be perceived as nice, different because he's the "clean" version of a vampire. At least, that was what his mind was blaring out.

I cursed myself for doing so but I followed him anyway, falling into step with him, by his side.

"Look, I really am sorry for whatever Damon's doing to you," Stefan said. "He can be an arrogant guy sometimes and you haven't done anything to deserve it."

I laughed and waved him off. "Please," I said, "Damon's harmless."

Stefan turned his head and looked at me like I was crazy.

_Damon harmless? Is she under his trance?_

"No I'm not," I answered his thoughts out loud. His face contorted into a confusion and I smiled obliviously.

"Not what?" he questioned.

"Oh nothing," I said, waving him off again.

We walked in silence as Stefan was heavy in thought the entire time. I ended up tuning him out because his frantic mind questions were starting to harass me and I was growing a headache. Just before we reached the door to 115 though, he lightly grabbed my wrist and stopped me. It was a different grip from his brother's - softer, sweeter, less aggressive.

"You can read minds," he said, as if it was a fact. "You answered a question that I asked in my head and you answered it out loud."

My face turned unemotional. Let him think what he wants to. I'll never personally tell him to his face what I can do. I've never done it to anyone so why would I start with him?

"And you're a vampire," I said softly, so that no one could hear me. "We all have our problems."


	4. Chapter 4

I tapped my pen against the table in frustration and annoyance as I glared evilly at my American History homework. It wasn't so much the subject that was ticking me off, I just have a super hard time with reading comprehension and it's hard for me to understand what a question is truly asking. Just ask me who won the Battle of Bull Run, don't elaborately fill the question with creative words and confuse the fuck out of me.

"Another water?" asked the waitress, a skinny girl with bushy brown hair that I vaguely remember seeing in the halls of school.

I was at Mystic Grill, sitting in a booth by myself, with my textbook, various pieces of paper, and pencils scattered across the table. I had been slugging down cups of water for the past hour.

"Um, yeah sure," I said, hardly noticing her presence.

"Actually," said a voice. "Make it a Coke. And put in an order of fries and a hamburger. She's getting too skinny."

I looked up and Damon slide into my booth, just on the opposite side of me.

"I hope you're paying for that," I said, nodding towards the waitress who was now handing the order to the chef through the small window.

"I didn't buy you a TV so I thought a free meal was good enough," he said, stretching his arms back and resting his hands on the back of his head.

"Oh you spoil me," I said as I looked back down at my work, my pencil in my hand, ready to write but remaining motionless.

I looked back at the question and cringed when I re-read it. Honestly - it was like it was written in a different language.

"You aren't a great date," Damon said, causing me to stop working and look back up at him.

"Excuse me?"

"I join you and you ignore my presence," he said. He put his hand to his heart and pretended to look hurt. "I haven't seen you in a couple of days, the least you could do is talk to me."

"Yes well homework is a priority," I said.

"I didn't take you for the studious type."

"I'm not. I'm just the 'I-want-to-pass-high-school' type."

"My favorite."

I sighed and shook my head then returned to my work. Or at least attempted to. It's hard to do so when Damon is sitting directly in front of you, smirking and staring intently at you.

I heard the booth seat crinkle and before I knew it, Damon was leaning in, a little too close for comfort, his head bowed as he looked at my textbook.

"Ah," he said as he settled himself back down, "the Civil War."

"It's so interesting, it's hard to contain my excitement as I keep reading." It was silent for a little bit as I wrote down my response to a question in the book.

"You know," Damon said, his voice softer then usual. "I was in the Civil War."

I stopped reading and slowly brought my eyes to level with his.

"Were you-"

"Human? Yes."

I didn't know quite how to respond to that. And that in itself was a rarity - I always had a comeback, something to say during those awkward points in life, something always on my mind. Yet with Damon, I found myself speechless or my mind would be completely blank. My mouth hanging open seemed to be a face I made whenever he was around.

I looked down at the questions printed in bold on the textbook, which I could have sworn was mocking me.

"So," I said, pursing my lips and wildly using my hands as I talked, "what with the," I glanced down at the fifth question, "growing animosity cultivating in the South, etcetera etcetera," I looked back up, "what were the favored circumstances the South had against the North, disregarding their agricultural advantage," I looked back down at the question, "wait…um, disregarding their overall, um, wait I read the other question...yeah?"

Damon raised an eyebrow. He didn't say anything for about three seconds.

"I have no idea what you just asked me," he said

I groaned in frustration. "_I_ don't know what I just said."

He rolled his eyes and grabbed my textbook from me. He flipped a couple of pages, back and forth, reading a couple of lines every now and then. Then, after about a minute, he plopped the book back on the table with a thud, causing a couple of nearby people to look in our direction.

"The Civil War is so depressing," he said, waving off my homework. "There are more important matters to discuss."

"Oh? I wasn't aware."

"Of course not, you've been trying to avoid it," Damon said. "Now, tell me your secret."

"Sometimes I skip lunch but never breakfast," I whispered, leaning in as if I had squealed my deepest darkest secret. "Please don't tell anyone, I'm really self-conscious about it."

"You know," Damon said, and his voice grew dark. "I could forcefully get this information from you."

"I'm not afraid of you," I said, staring straight into his eyes, hoping that I appeared hard and strong, which was the complete opposite of how I really felt. To be honest, I was dead ass scared of Damon. I was vulnerable around him. Not being able to read his mind meant not being able to know his next move. I had lost my advantage.

And he was right. He could, if he wanted to, in a split second, kill me or hurt me or, hopefully not, worse things. He was a million times quicker and more powerful then I was. He was, after all, supernatural. I was just natural, plain and boring. I was normal around him. And God did I hate it.

"I beg to differ," he countered. "There's something different about you. You're not a vampire, a witch, or a human. I don't know what you are."

"Why can't you just accept that I'm a regular eighteen year-old girl?" I almost cringed at those words.

"Because you interest me. And no one interests me."

"I'll take that as a compliment and not a creepy statement," I said, leaning back in my chair.

Just then the waitress appeared and put down a basket filled with fries and a large hamburger. She smiled at us then left, leaving a stingy tension in between Damon and I as we couldn't think of anything to say after that last conversation.

I grabbed a fry, twirled it, then popped it in my mouth. "Mmm," I said happily, putting on a smile and grabbing another fry.

Damon just sat there and stared at me as I continued eating. I went back to doing my homework, answering the questions with answers I'm not sure were even correct or valid, all while popping food in my mouth every now and then. I tried to block Damon from my mind, but once again, it was useless. Why did I even bother?

But I had to act this way. There was no one in hell I could tell Damon about my ability. Because then he'd end up finding out that I couldn't read his mind and he'd know for a fact that he would always have the advantage.

_Whatever_, I thought, _not like I wanted to know what was in his dirty mind_.

I went back to doing my homework as best as I could. I was on the last question, which asked something ridiculous about a poem that was on the last page that I hadn't bothered to read. I hated when they tried to throw in literature to tie in the whole history lesson so I had skipped it, hoping they wouldn't ask something about it. But of course they did.

I scanned the poem, looking for the answer to the question, when the name of the author caught my eye. My heart dropped. I almost gagged and I felt my eyes welt up.

_Ros_.

That was my mother's name.

I slammed the textbook shut, before my mind decided to wander again.

"What's wrong with you?" Damon asked.

"Nothing," I answered quickly. "Just finished. My homework. It's done so I shut the textbook. Closed."

"Riiiiiight," Damon said slowly.

"Yeah." I cleared my throat. "I have to get home. Thanks for the food." I got out of the booth and starting jamming my textbook and homework into my book bag.

I stopped and brought my head up, smiling as I said, "I won't be returning the favor."

"Aw," he said, putting his hand over his heart. "I'm severely disappointed."

"I'm sure you'll learn to cope."

"I bet you taste delicious."

"This is why we can never be BFFs," I said lightly, trying to ignore the fact that he just referred to sucking the blood out of my body.

"Goodbye Ava," he said as I turned my back on him, ready to leave.

The way he said my name, it was mystifying. It gave me chills and I didn't know whether it was a bad thing or a good thing. Was it weird that I liked it anyway? Probably.

I didn't bother to speak. I waved my hand and left the Grill as quickly as I could.


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey! Ava! Wait up!"

I cringed. I stopped in my tracks and turned around, facing the school and seeing Elena running down the cement steps and headed in my direction. It was the end of school and I was looking forward to heading home and taking a really long nap. But instead, I was in the middle of the front yard as people hurdled past me, doing the thing I had been yearning to do.

Elena approached me and I raised an eyebrow, wanting to indicate that I had better plans then talking to her.

It's not like I hated her. I mean, she appeared nice and her thoughts clearly indicated that she had good intentions. Yet her and Stefan had been bugging me for the past two weeks now, trying to get me alone with either one of them so that they could warn me about Damon. It was incredibly obvious that they didn't trust him and I didn't even need to read their minds to know that.

I'll admit I was curious as to what they had to say about Damon. Elena kept thinking about the things he had done to some girl named Caroline and Stefan kept thinking about that there was some secret plan Damon was creating and that I'm somehow involved. I didn't think there was a plan - Damon didn't seem to care enough about anything to create some giant, elaborate plan. But I did want to know about what he did to that Caroline girl. Elena never went far enough to think about specific details - she would just think about how horrible he treated her, how he manipulated her, then she'd cut off her thoughts because she didn't want to think about the rest.

"Hey," Elena huffed. She ran her fingers through her silky hair loosely, causing the strands to fall perfectly on her shoulders. She probably conditioned a lot. I didn't have enough money for conditioner. I used those 2-in-1 shit bottles.

"Hi," I said wearily.

"Look," she started. "I don't think we've been getting off on the right foot. I just wanted to apologize. I know Stefan and I have been slightly annoying over the past couple of days."

I smirked.

She smiled and rolled her eyes. "Okay maybe really annoying. But I promise we're not freaks. I just wanted to invite you to a party down by the woods tonight. It'll be fun, a lot of people will be there but it won't get out of control."

"I don't really go to parties," I responded nicely. "All those people tend to give me a headache." That was true - there were so many thoughts running around that it made me insane trying to block them all out. School was hard enough, why would I want to have that feeling during my spare time?

"Well if you change your mind, let me know," she said. "I could give you a ride if you want."

_Hmmm_,I thought. That meant time alone with Elena and maybe I could finally get some dirty details on Damon. Knowing more and more about him was becoming sort of a hobby for me. It was probably an obsession really but I wouldn't let myself think that. I just couldn't help it if I found him so interesting.

"Actually," I said, "Sure. Why not?"

Elena smiled widely. "Awesome. I'll pick you up at ten. You live in the old Wilson home right?"

"Yep."

"Great. I'll see you then!"

Elena hurried away and soon Stefan was by her side. They chattered happily, his arm slung around her shoulders, as they walked away and got into Stefan's car.

I sighed and started my way home. I need to stop thinking about Damon. I need to stop _seeing_ Damon. Although, I had to say, it's not like I went looking for him - he always found me, whether it was at The Grill or walking home from school or even at the grocery store buying milk and Oreos for my awesome dinner. He even showed up on my porch every now and then.

So in all fairness, it's not like I was purposely thinking about him all the time. If you see someone all the time they're bound to be on your mind a lot, right? Right?

I interest him. But why? He knew I had a secret, that I was different then anything he had seen before. And he's been around for a long time, so of course something odd was going to capture his attention. But what happens when he founds out or gets bored of my whole charade? Would he just off me and be on his way like any regular day? I mean, I'm new to town. Hardly anyone knows I'm even here, it would be easy to just kill me.

I shuddered. I should really stop thinking. How ironic.

* * *

I looked at myself in the mirror. I brushed my black hair again, causing my bangs to fall in front of my eyes. I pushed them away then looked again. I was wearing a black Phoenix shirt with the sleeves cut off, the hole wide so that my entire side of my torso was showing on both sides, and skinny jeans, basically the only pair I had. I probably wasn't dressed appropriate for this party but this was my favorite shirt and I needed some comfort for tonight.

The doorbell rang.

The clock on the floor said it was ten o'clock and I silently applauded Elena for being on time. That was a point in her favor.

I grabbed my old disposable cell phone, shoved it in my pocket, and my keys and headed towards the front door.

Elena and Stefan stood on my front porch.

"Hey Ava," Elena greeted as Stefan smiled his.

"Hey," I responded as I stepped out, closing the front door behind me and locking it with my key. I turned around and followed them as we walked down the porch, through the lawn, and then into Stefan's car. Elena took the passenger seat and I jumped in the back.

"Thanks for the ride," I said, trying to be nice.

"It's no problem," Elena said.

Silence ensued. It was slightly awkward as I lounged in the back. Their minds kept shooting questions to ask but they were too afraid, or maybe too nice, to ask. I just had to break the silence - it was killing me.

"So how's the vampire thing working out?" I questioned, putting my hands behind my head.

Startled, Stefan jerked the car a little bit but quickly brought it back into the lane. He coughed and cleared his throat. "Um, what?"

"I just wanted to know how it's going. You drink animal blood which is great, kudos and all, but that must suck."

"Yeah, er, it's, um, a little hard," Stefan said. He shot a sideways glance at Elena.

"Sounds like an understatement. But congrats on doing it - wish all vampires were like you."

"Thanks," Stefan said slowly and slightly jarred.

"So Ava," Elena said, quickly, trying to change the subject. "Why did you move here?"

"I got a good deal on a house here. Plus you guys have a Wachovia bank, which is really handy and actually a lot harder to find in smaller towns."

"You bought that house?" Stefan asked, confused.

"Yep."

"Who sold it to you?"

"Mr. Wilson, duh."

"But I heard he left and passed away," Elena remarked.

I laughed. "Dude he leaves in Miami and he's got like five girlfriends. He's definitely not dead."

Stefan and Elena looked at each, each equally confused, shocked, and speechless. Nothing more was said in the car and I gave up trying to start a conversation. I think I had said enough because now their thoughts were tripled more then usual. It was all pretty funny actually but I decided that I would stop messing with them - it was beginning to turn cruel.

We reached the party ten minutes later and Stefan pulled his car in next to another. He unlocked the doors and we all stepped out. We walked to the party in silence but there was a skip to my step. I was in a good mood, for some reason I was not quite sure, but I wasn't about to let myself become bummed out due to my two silent companions.

I separated from them as soon as we were engulfed in the party. There was a bonfire in the center of the crowd, illuminating everyone in a reddish hue, coolers filled with different types of beer, and people talking wildly and excitedly. I grabbed a can of beer from one of the coolers, popped it open, and began to walk around, surveying the various people who I vaguely remembered from school.

Some people were making out, others were with their friends, and some were even just standing by themselves, drinking beer and bobbing their head to the awful music that blared out through some guy's giant boom box. After about fifteen minutes of walking around, getting a couple of hello's from sober and drunk kids, I walked over to a bridge that I found not too far from the party. It was secluded but not so far away that I couldn't hear the noise of people and music.

I leaned on the bridge and began to dump out my beer. I wasn't a drinker in public - by myself, it was another thing. But in public, drinking only meant that, once again, I was not in control and people could take advantage of my altered state. I was just really paranoid all the time, I couldn't help it.

When my beer was empty I leaned down and set it next to my feet. As I was standing back up, I heard a sound to my left, which was the deep forest, where no one I had seen had entered. It was completely dark in there and an eerie feeling overwhelmed me.

"Hey," someone said to my right. I yelped in fright and turned my head quickly.

It was some kid from my History class. Or was it my English class? I wasn't sure but I knew I did have him for some class. I also knew, by just looking at him, that he was really drunk. _Great._

"What's going onnnnn Ava?" he slurred, smiling widely and leaning on the bridge. He had a beer on his hand but he smelled like he had gone through twenty.

"Oh nothing," I said, hoping that he would go away. He didn't.

"That's awesome. Sometimes nothing is awesome."

"What an intellectual statement."

"People, people, they doubt me," he said then finished with a burp.

_God damn she's fucking fine. I'd do anything to fuck her._

Okay. I was done here. And I didn't need to read his thoughts to know how retarded he was or that spending a second longer here would be wasting my time.

"Okay I'm leaving," I said. "Have a nice night."

"Wait, wait," he said, placing his hands on either side of my shoulders and stopping me. "Please, don't go. Don't go. That would suck."

"Agree to disagree," I responded, trying to get out of his grasp but he only held on stronger.

"Ava, Ava," he said, his smile growing larger. "It's me. Jack. Good ol' Jack. I'm not going to kill you or anything. I'm just trying to have fun. Don't you like fun?"

"I believe we have two different definitions of fun," I said, sharply, getting more and more aggravated the longer this went on. "Now I'm going to give you three seconds to let me go or I will hurt you. A lot."

"Oh my God," Jack said, exasperated. "Live a little."

I jerked back but he held on stronger. "Live. A. Little," he repeated with a dirty smirk.

I lifted up my fist and hit him square in the jaw. He stumbled back and I grunted loudly as I held my right hand in my left, my right hand burning and aching in pain at the sudden contact. I hopped up and down and my eyes almost welled in tears in pain.

Jack started to drunkenly laugh. He rubbed his jaw and looked at me.

"You like it rough?" he questioned as he began to walk towards me.

I sighed. Really? Honestly?

I swung my leg up and kicked him hard in the temple. I thanked God for that martial arts course I took when I lived in Queens because, once again, it was coming in handy. Jack screamed in pain and fell to the floor, where I proceeded to slam my foot into his shoulder. I leaned down, placing my hand around his throat as he sputtered and shook on the floor.

"I hope you wind up alone for the rest of your life," I spat in his face, "because you are a sick and twisted human being."

I brought myself back up and walked back to the party angrily, leaving him on the ground aching in pain.


	6. Chapter 6

I didn't find Elena or Stefan; I left the party altogether, deciding that maybe walking home would help me vent or release some anger. That incident with Jack had pissed me off so much that I wasn't sure that I could even talk to anyone without exploding. The way he touched me, looked at me like I was a piece of meat - it infuriated me.

Why did I even come to this party? I hated parties. And I hadn't even gotten anything juicy or even remotely interesting. All these people kept thinking about was sex and alcohol and stupid nonsense. Everyone thought of stupid nonsense all the time because they were stupid.

I am _so_ antisocial right now.

I had been walking down the street for about ten minutes, talking out loud to myself and stomping my feet on the ground like I was five years old. And, to add to my frustration, my hand hurt so much from hitting Jack in the face. I looked down at it, holding it gingerly with my other hand, and saw that it was rough and red, my knuckles slightly swollen.

I wanted to cry. I hated my life. Everything always goes wrong.

**Honk.**

I brought myself away from staring at my hand and looked behind me at the noise. A black car was coming my way but it's bright headlights made it impossible to see who was behind the wheel.

I swear to God if it's Jack I am _so_ ready for Round 2.

The car stopped right next to me and the passenger door was pushed open. Damon was seated in the driver's seat and he looked slightly flushed, his face different from its normal mischievousness.

"Get in," he commanded, his voice tense and unemotional.

"No," I said, my arms crossed.

"Get in the car Ava," he repeated, this time more forcefully.

"No," I said angrily. "I am not in the mood Damon."

"I know you're not and neither am I," he countered.

I paused. I opened my mouth, closed it, then opened again as I asked, "How did you know?"

"I saw your little confrontation," he said harshly. "Now get in the car before I make you."

Not feeling like fighting twice in the same night, I disregarded my better judgment and hopped into the car. I slammed the car door shut and Damon sped off, going way over the speed limit. He gripped the wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white.

After a couple minutes though he seemed to calm down. His breathing returned to normal and his grip loosened up. He stopped hunching over and finally leaned back fully in the car seat. In those minutes, however, I was trying to think of how Damon could have spotted the entire scene. I hadn't seen him when I was walking around the party and there was definitely no one else on that bridge except Jack and me.

"How's your hand?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Fine," I responded softly, grimacing as I ran my index finger over my knuckles.

"How's your hand Ava?" he asked again.

I paused then said, "It hurts."

"That's more like it," he said, a small smirk growing on his face. "You did a good job though. You kicked his ass."

"Thanks," I said dryly. I was feeling upset - more then upset really - and I wasn't in the mood for Damon's smugness. I just wanted to go home, to crawl into bed, and ice my hand while watching an episode of Friends on my hardly working TV set that I had to buy myself, no thanks to Damon.

But we didn't pull into my house. We arrived at a house that was five times the size of mine, with an immaculate garden filled with rose bushes and flowers and a long, extended driveway. The house was amazing, adorned in classic architecture, the structure wide and strong. It was beautiful, a house I could only dreamed of living in. A house that was definitely not _my_ house.

"Where are we?" I asked quickly, my nerve rising and my fear escalating. Oh God, why did I get in a car with Damon?

"Relax," he said, "it's my house. I'm going to take care of your hand and then I'll drop you off at your house." I gave him a skeptical look. "I promise that I won't be _that_ bad."

"That made me feel worse, why did you say that?"

"I'm not going to do anything to you Ava." He sounded so sincere, I didn't know whether or not to believe him. It seemed real but I couldn't be sure. I wasn't sure about anything regarding Damon.

"Why couldn't you have just taken me back to my house and fixed my hand there?"

"Well I'm not exactly allowed in now am I?"

Damn. That's right. "We're in and out in five minutes," I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Guess I'll act quickly then," he said with a smirk.

He disappeared. I blinked like crazy but I wasn't just seeing things - he really did just disappear right before my eyes. I opened my mouth, my mind went blank, and I wanted to scream but nothing came out. The passenger door opened and I turned my head sharply to see Damon holding it open.

"Shall we go?" he asked. "I only have five minutes and you're wasting time."

I glared at him and hopped out of the car. "Don't do that please."

"Your wish is my command."

We walked up the driveway and Damon opened the front door. We walked inside and I tried not to marvel at the sight. The inside of the house was even better - the wooden floors were polished, the rooms were embellished with antique furniture and paintings, and the walls had intricate carvings that seemed like they were created centuries ago.

"You like it?"

So it was that obvious that I was in love with the place? "Yeah," I said nonchalantly. "It's nice."

"Come on, I'll take care of your hand in the kitchen," he said. He turned and I followed him, looking at as much as I could on the way.

We entered the kitchen and he pulled up a nearby stool for me to sit on. I did so and watched him as he went into one of the cabinets and pulled out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, gauze, and band aids. He wet the gauze with the hydrogen peroxide then approached me.

"Give me your hand," he commanded, but softly.

I hesitated.

"Ava," he said and I looked up at him. My insides melted and I felt myself raise my hand and place it in his.

A warm sensation crept into my hand and spread like wildfire throughout my entire body. My throat stiffened and I felt as if every sense was quickened and on high alert. I yanked my hand away and looked at Damon, who was staring intently at his own hand. He looked slowly up at me, his eyes wide, filled with confusion and bewilderment.

I couldn't handle this. There was way too much going on tonight and it was more then I could deal with. I hated things I had no say in, in things that were out of my control. I could not possibly explain what just happened. I couldn't even explain how I felt about Damon, a bittersweet notion was all I could offer.

I got up and headed rapidly towards the front door. I exited, slamming the door behind me and making my way down the driveway, and onto the street. I wasn't sure where I was, what direction I was even in, but I knew I had to be home, whether it was in five minutes or five hours, I just needed to be home.

* * *

It took me an hour to get home. I don't even remember walking up the porch steps, opening up the front door, and making my way to the bedroom. I don't even remember collapsing on the mattress. The only part I remember was, even though being incredibly tired and exhausted, not being able to fall asleep.

My mind was working overtime, as per usual whenever I had been around Damon.

I thought about everything. Which meant I ended up thinking about my mom, dad, and little brother. I thought about all the houses I've stayed in over the past years and cities I've lived in and people I've met. I had seen a lot, more then anyone could possibly have, and had the ability to do whatever I pleased for a long time. It had been fun.

But I secretly hated it. The people like Elena Gilbert had it all too easy. She had a home, probably with a giant, comfy, luxurious bed, not a mattress on the floor with no bed sheets and stains, and a giant kitchen filled and stocked with her favorite foods, not a pantry and a microwave and the only thing edible being a box of Cheerios. She didn't realize how lucky she was because she didn't know the other life she could have had.

I finally fell asleep at four in the morning. But it didn't last long.

I woke up screaming at six. I had another nightmare, something that always happens when I think about my family. Its always the same nightmare. It's always the same scene unfolding in my dreams and it always ends with waking up screaming as if someone chopped off one of my limbs.

I crawled back into bed, throwing the covers over my head, and hoping that everything so far was the real nightmare.


	7. Chapter 7

I hadn't seen Damon in a week. In fact, I hadn't talked or engaged in any conversations with anyone in the past week. I had maxed out on the antisocial meter and my day ended up following the same pattern - school, sleep, dinner, sleep, repeat. All my movements felt sluggish and in slow motion.

But it was Saturday now and I woke up in a completely energized state. I was tired of feeling this way and I needed to change it. So I changed into clothes that weren't pajamas, actually brushed my hair, and grabbed my toolbox from the living room. I was going to do an activity that I loved and had been doing for years, something that always made me happy and wasted time.

I was going to fix up the house.

It's what I did anyway. It was my primary source of income. I would buy old crappy houses like this at a really low rate, fix them up so that they were only moderately crappy, and sell them for an average rate. It was actually pretty fun for me. I liked to fix things, get my hands dirty, learn the ins and outs of all the mechanical stuff that made this house work.

I took the toolbox outside, where the hot sun greeted me by burning my skin, and went to the side of the house where the air conditioning unit was. It had been working off and on ever since I moved in about a month ago and today I was going to fix it.

I set the toolbox down and squatted next to it, inspecting the pipes and machine itself. It was old and way outdated but nothing a little salvaging could fix. I took my screwdriver and opened up the side of the unit, revealing the inner workings of it all - the wires were smashed together, the metal rusted and fall apart.

A hour later, my body was covered in sweat and my hands were covered in dirt and oil. I grabbed a small towel that I had gotten from inside and wiped my forehead with it. I wiped my hands, which didn't get a lot of the dirt and oil off, and sighed, reaching inside once again to see if everything was in place. I untangled the wires and properly placed them in their positions and scraped the rust off of the metal. There was also some duct tape thrown in there because, let's face it, that just fixes everything.

I pulled my hand out and stood up, surveying my work. Now to see if it worked out. I placed the last wire in its place and the air conditioning unit kicked into work, whirring loudly then slowly decreasing the noise.

"Yeahhhhhh!" I said triumphantly, clapping my hands and shaking my hips from side to side. "I fucking rock."

"It looks like I can't disagree."

I screamed and jumped around, throwing my hands over my heart because I thought it would fly right out of my chest.

Damon was standing there, leaning against the side of my house, wearing a black leather jacket despite the heat.

"Hey," I said uneasily. I turned around and began to start putting away all the tools I had used back into the toolbox.

"Did you miss me?" he asked coyly.

A smile slowly crept on my face. I turned around and placed a hand on my hip. "So much. My life was empty without you Damon," I said, putting my other hand on my forehead while I mocked him.

"Try not to let it get to you sweetheart."

I rolled my eyes at him and stepped past him, toolbox in hand, as I made my way to the front of the house and up the porch. Damon followed, lazily taking his time as he strolled through the jungle that was my backyard.

"Go get changed," he said as soon as I opened the front door.

"Why?" I asked, stopping in my tracks and turning around.

"I can't have you looking like that when I take you out to lunch," he said. "I have an image to uphold."

"If you weren't offering a free meal, I'd judo kick you right in the face," I said. "I'll be five minutes."

"Mind if I wait inside?" he questioned, his smirk growing larger with every word that passed out his mouth.

"Yes I do," I said, sticking my tongue at him. "Enjoy the sun for a little bit."

He mockingly glared at me as I bounced into the house. I jumped into the shower, was out in a minute, quickly changed, put on a little black eyeliner because Damon made me self-conscious, and was outside the house in four minutes.

"You know," Damon said as we walked down the front lawn, "you have some secret ability or something, there's something completely strange about you, but the weirdest thing about you is that you get ready in five minutes."

I shrugged. "Don't be afraid of me Damon, I really am quite harmless."

"Yes I'm afraid of _you_," he said, almost on the verge of laughing.

We walked down the sidewalk, heading towards town, and probably towards The Grill, as it was the only restaurant that was even mildly appealing to eat at in Mystic Falls.

"Hey can I ask you a question?" I asked, turning my head to look at him as we kept walking.

"Only if I get to ask you one in return," he played.

"Fine," I agreed, just because I really had this on my mind for a pretty long time. It was probably inappropriate to even ask and it was even weird in my head as I formulated a way to word it that wasn't crazy. Yet there was no other way except to be quite blunt.

"Why haven't you killed me yet?" I questioned, trying to ask it in the same tone as if I was asking about the weather.

Damon didn't looked shocked or appalled, as I thought he would. "I don't kill everyone I meet you know," he said slyly.

"Yeah but I know you're a vampire," I said matter-of-factly. "Aren't you afraid I'll spread your secret around the town and -"

"They'll come after me with pitchforks and torches?" he cut me off, that famous smirk present on his face.

I rolled my eyes. "Can you please answer my question?"

"Look," he said, stopping and dropping the smirk. "I don't want to kill you."

"Why?" I questioned, interrogating him. "You said I'd taste, um, delicious." I mumbled the last word because it was just so weird saying it.

He laughed softly and the smirk reappeared. "I bet you do," he said intently. "But that would mean I would have to hurt you or kill you and I don't want to do that."

"But _why_?"

"You realize that you've asked like ten questions already," Damon said.

"Because you keep dodging the original question when gives me the right to keep asking questions that come closer to the answer I should have just received," I said, pointing my index finger at him.

He sighed, turned, and started to walk. I caught up to him and followed next to his side.

"I just don't want to Ava," he said the minute I opened my mouth.

"Alright fine," I responded, crossing my arms. "I hope you don't ever change your mind."

He laughed and there was a hint of darkness deep within it that made the hairs on my arm stand-up.

"Now it's my turn," he said and I immediately realized I shouldn't have agreed to this deal. "How did you know that guy was going to rob that store a couple of weeks ago?"

I clamped my mouth shut and strode forward, my face sharp and unmoving. "That's personal."

"Fine. Then another - what happened to your family?"

"Personal."

"You're lucky you're so darn cute when you're upset or else I'd force it out of you," he said. He looked at me, raised an eyebrow, then smirked. "You know Stefan has a theory."

"Oh I bet he does."

"He thinks you can read minds," Damon said.

I tried to pretend like that was the craziest thing I had ever heard. "I bet he also thinks I can fly to the moon," I said with a lopsided smile.

"I don't buy it though."

"Aw, why not?" I questioned, feeling the heat rise in my neck and cheeks as I continued further with this little charade.

"Because you wouldn't keep talking to me if you knew what was in _my_ mind," he said, all too serious.

"Oh I don't doubt that," I said and it was probably true. He was so lucky I couldn't read his mind.


	8. Chapter 8

"So let's play a little game," Damon said as he sat next to me on the bench that was placed on my porch. It was about two o'clock in the morning on a Thursday night and I was sitting Indian-style with a jar of peanut butter in my lap and a spoon in my hand. Damon was by my side, wearing his usual attire - a black leather jacket with a black v-neck underneath and black jeans to match. I was dressed in my pajamas, which basically consisted of shorts and another one of my shirts with the sides cut all the way down. "I'm going to ask you a series of questions."

I probably should be in bed considering I had school tomorrow. I probably also shouldn't be eating my last supply of peanut butter. What I most likely shouldn't do was be outside in the middle of the night with a vampire, talking to him as if he was as normal as the kids who walked the halls of my school.

But it had been about two months since I moved to town and disregarding the small hello's and tiny conversations I had with Elena and Stefan every now and then, Damon was the only person I talked to. It was weird that the one person I shouldn't talk to was, in fact, the closest thing I had to a friend. Of course, he was also gorgeous, sly, sexy, mysterious - every quality out of a romance novel that made me swoon like no other. But there was no way he was going to know that, _ever_.

I felt something towards him that I had never felt towards anyone. It was odd and it felt weird the majority of the time, as if my mind as split into two as to what I should do or what was right. What was crazy was that I couldn't even pull away from him if I tried; it was as if I couldn't control myself. Which is why instead of sleeping, I'm out on my porch talking to him.

Damon would occasionally do this. There would be nights where I would fall comfortably into bed and be awakened a hour later with a knock on the door and Damon standing there all nonchalant. Not because he wanted to annoy me but because he wanted to talk. And talk we did - I told him about all the places I lived, he told me about all the places he's lived, I told him about all my favorite foods and music (which lead to someone mysteriously leaving the brand new Phoenix CD on my porch step), and random useless information that I didn't even think was important.

He wouldn't tell me much about him. He talked scarcely as possible about what he was like when he was a human. I didn't push it - the face he made was obvious enough that he was uncomfortable and still strained about something. I didn't know whether I really wanted to know what it was.

"What is with you and peanut butter?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow as I smiled when I put another spoonful in my mouth.

"It's amazing?" I said as if it was the only thing in the world everyone should be sure of.

"Do you ever eat anything else?"

"Why would I eat anything that was not as good as peanut butter?" I asked.

"I have a similar theory except it's not peanut butter," he smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh you're a big bad scary vampire, eek!" I mocked. I suddenly remembered something and I picked up the jar of peanut butter and the spoon and stood up. "I'll be right back - I want to show you something."

I went back inside the house, put away the food I had been stuffing in my mouth for the past hour, then went into my bedroom. In a small cardboard box that was probably older then I was, I pulled out a scrapbook that I've had for the past five years. I touched the cover gingerly and smiled, then turned on my heel and went back on the porch where Damon was.

I sat down next to him and he scooted closer to see what I was holding. His knee rubbed against mine and I felt a static shock course through my body. I pulled away.

I opened it up, purposely avoiding the first page, and revealed a variety of Polaroid's dabbled on the second and third page.

"That's my first house in Los Angeles," I said, pointing to the picture of a disgusting, worn-down one room house that was in the middle of nowhere, only surrounded by houses as worse as it was. "I lived there when I was about fourteen but only for about a year because all those gunshots at night kinda freaked me out."

"Who's that?" he asked, pointing to a picture of a kid around my age, on the floor and holding his bloody nose.

"Oh that's Pete," I said, smiling. "He was my friend then he tried to grab my boob so I punched him in the face. I took a picture for the memory." I leaned in. "He didn't like that."

Damon smiled and I turned another page, showing him the Polaroid of my house in Queens, then my other house in Portland, then my house in Little Rock. The last page had the Polaroid of the house I currently lived in.

There were other various pictures of people that I had befriended along the way, like Alice who was my neighbor in Queens and who would take me to martial arts class on Saturdays and Wednesdays, and there was Paul who lived down the street from me in Little Rock and ended up telling me he was gay, something he had never told anyone.

"What's on the first page?" Damon asked, moving his hand over to flip the pages back. I grabbed his wrist to stop him but yanked back when that sensation reappeared. He looked up at me and raised an eyebrow.

"You can't see that page," I said, shutting the book, then quickly getting up and throwing it inside the house.

"Okay okay calm down," he said. "I won't look if you don't want me to."

I coughed awkwardly, trying to pretend that my small freak out didn't just occur and that I didn't look like I was trying incredibly hard to hide something which was _exactly_ what I was doing. I sat back down on the porch bench and brought my knees up to my chest.

"Will I eventually get to see what's on the first page?" he questioned.

"No," I said quickly. No one could. That was my page. For my eyes only.

"Have you ever trusted someone for like, I don't know, two seconds?"

"No."

"You have some deep seeded issues Ava."

I made a "Pffft" noise and almost wanted to laugh. "_I_ have issues? You don't tell me anything about your past so why should I say anything about mine?"

His smirk faded into a straight line. "You want to know about my past?"

"No I don't," I said and that confused him. "I'd rather not."

"Why? Aren't you curious?"

"Some people just like to live in the present, so if someone doesn't want to share what happened to them in the past then that's their choice."

"Or maybe you just don't want to tell me about what happened to you because you'll think I'll think of you differently," he said matter-of-factly. He pushed my shoulder lightly with his index finger. "Or maybe worse."

"Worse?"

"You'll think I'll pity you," he said, staring at me straight in the eyes.

I didn't say anything. I couldn't. It was like he took the words right out of my head. Maybe he was the one who could read minds.

"I'm not going to pity you Ava," he said. "We all have baggage."

"You go first," I whispered.

He smirked. "No," he said. "I always go first and you always say you're going to answer one of my questions and you never do."

I opened my mouth to say something smart-alecky but nothing came out. I snapped it shut and glared at him but he continued to wait patiently, his head cocked to the side as he surveyed me.

"They died," I said quickly, rushing the words out of my mouth so fast that I could barely comprehend what I just said.

"Your parents?" he asked.

"Yes," I said, a lump rising in my throat. I held back the tears that threatened to rush down my face. I hadn't cried in years and there was no way I was going to start now, in front of Damon of all people. I could be strong about this - it had been a long time. I've had almost half my life to get over it, to move on, yet each day was harder then the last.

"Any my little brother," I finished.

Damon didn't say anything. Maybe he was expecting a different answer, like I had runaway because my parents were super mean to me or beat me or something, but I don't think he was expecting to hear that they died. He continued to look at me, observing me as if I was a lab experiment.

"That's it," I said, pointing my finger at him. "That's all you're going to get."

He held up his hands defensively. "Alright, alright," he said. "That's fine."

Damon leaned his elbows on his knees and avoided my gaze. "I moved to town for a girl."

My heart stopped beating. At that moment I felt as if I had just died, or if I hadn't, I was about to. The physical feelings I experienced when he said that felt as if my body was being ripped apart, right down the middle. This was why I didn't want to know anything about Damon's past. Even though the notion of being with Damon romantically was far-fetched, ridiculous, idiotic, and never going to happen, I still freakishly liked just knowing that in some distant alternate reality, maybe it could happen. I was one messed up kid, that's for sure.

"Her name was Katherine," he continued, each one of his words becoming a dagger and stabbing me in the chest. He took pauses between each sentence. "But things didn't work out as I thought they would so I just decided to stay here anyway and sulk 24/7."

"I like to sulk," I said weakly, even though knowing that things hadn't worked out between him and this Katherine girl had slightly revitalized me I was still feeling sore. "We should sulk together."

I saw him crack a smile. "I wouldn't sulk with anyone else in the world."

"You probably sulked at one point with Elvis Presley," I commented, trying to get rid of this awkward tension that had floated into the air. "I bet he was great to sulk with."

Damon whipped his head towards me. "You _swear_ I've met all the famous people in the world."

"Of course you have. You're the biggest diva that I know."

"Oh shut up," he said, smiling so wide that I ended up grinning.

"I am rubber and you are glue-HEY!" Damon reached up and put his hand on the top of my head, rubbing and messing up my hair, causing me to shriek happily and aimlessly throw punches at him despite not being able to see due to my hair flying in every direction.

Awkwardness gone.


	9. Chapter 9

It was Saturday morning and I was waltzing around my house, desperately searching for my phone. I was supposed to be at Elena's house in ten minutes for a project, which I had bought a cardboard poster, markers, and glitter for, all of those things that couldn't fit with me on my motorcycle. And there was no way I was going to attempt to hold onto all those things while I rode my bike. I was just bad at multitasking and I would be dead in approximately two seconds.

And if I walked, which I was planning on doing, it would take thirty minutes. But, as per usual, I woke up late and that left me with only one choice - call Damon.

My killer vampire friend with killer vampire looks. And a car.

I finally found my phone nestled under my dirty laundry. I turned it on and found Damon's number, then sent him a quick text message asking him for a ride to Elena's, because that would be oh-so-nice. I also threw in a smiley face near the end.

Two minutes later Damon's car pulled into what was sort of my driveway - just a patch of grass that was browner then all the rest. I placed the marker box in my mouth, held my keys in one hand, and the glitter and cardboard poster in my other. I locked my place up then somehow managed to open Damon's car door with my elbows.

Damon sighed and rolled his eyes at my appearance. He leaned over the passenger seat and pulled the marker box out of my mouth.

"Thanks," I said cheerfully as I plopped into my seat, throwing my poster and glitter on the space in front of me.

"If I get glitter in my car-"

"You'll thank me and buy me dinner?" I interrupted.

"Far from it."

"I happen to think glitter would work wonders for your bone structure," I commented. "Just apply lightly on the cheek bones and you'll be the next Heath Ledger."

"If there is an ounce, a _speck_ of glitter anywhere on me-"

"Yeah yeah," I said, waving him off. "Boys don't like to look shiny, I get it. I won't put any glitter on you or any of your things, I promise." I grabbed the bottle of glitter off the floor and held it in my hands. There was a small speck hidden in the carpet. I put my shoe over it.

"Thanks for the ride by the way," I said.

"Did you wake up late again?"

"Don't I always?"

"Do you even use your alarm clock?"

"The alarm doesn't work."

"Then what's the purpose of the alarm clock?"

"I use it for the clock part," I said. "Jeez." I was starting to feel hot and I looked towards the air conditioning unit. It was turned off. I reached over and turned it on, smiling happily when the cold air brushed against my damp skin.

"Sorry," Damon said. "I forgot."

I had only been in Damon's car three times, of which the air conditioning was never on. I know he was a vampire, and that means he was always cold, so he never used the air conditioning. However, I was a human and I tended to get warm more then others.

We pulled into Elena's driveway and the car clock said that I was exactly on time.

"Thanks for the ride," I said, grabbing all my materials then shoving the door open. I hopped out of the car and closed the door shut, but noticed that Damon was following my same movements. He joined my side and pressed the lock button on his keychain, locking the car.

"What are you doing?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "I can make it to the front door fine, I'm not that clumsy."

"Well one, I beg to differ," he said. "And two, Stefan's in there."

"That's very astute of you," I said. "Did you come to that conclusion all on your own or was it because his car is also parked in the driveway?"

"You're so sarcastic that it's beginning to hurt me," he said, placing his hand over his heart. "Come along now dear." He grabbed the other side of the poster board and dragged me towards the front door.

Once on the porch he pressed the doorbell, the sound reverberating off the walls in an old chime. A second later Elena opened the door. Let's just say she was not pleased to see Damon standing there, smirking behind me.

"I didn't invite him," I clarified.

"Yes but I do love to help my friends, right Elena?" he asked and she glared at him, except this time it was a real glare.

"We're working in my room," she said, ignoring Damon and addressing me.

I nodded and walked inside, Damon following behind me. We walked up the steps behind Elena, down a short hallway and into her room, which was the size of my entire house. Stefan was seated on the floor, The Great Gatsby, in front of him, as it was the sole reason we even had a project in the first place. He looked up as we all entered and stared daggers at Damon.

"Really Damon?" he asked.

_What is he doing here? It's like Elena and I can never have Ava alone._

_Stefan's mad. Our plan isn't going to work if Damon is here. He's such an ass._

Wait - _plan_? Jesus. What happened to just doing a project for fuck's sake?

I was so angry that I couldn't even hold it in. I made a fatal mistake without even thinking.

"What plan?" I questioned angrily at Elena, since it was her thought that projected the idea. She opened her mouth wide, shocked at what I said, so I turned towards Stefan. "What is she talking about? What plan?"

"She didn't say anything about a plan," Stefan said slowly. "She was, however, thinking about one."

"Um," Damon said, looking back and forth between Stefan and I, "what's going on?"

"How did you know I was thinking that?" Elena asked me.

Oh fuck. Why did I have to have such a big mouth? I didn't say anything as all three expected an answer from me.

_She can read minds._

At this point, I was so scared and frustrated I didn't know who that thought came from. But it was overloading my mind and my forehead felt as if it was burning right off. They tricked me. They did this on purpose. They pretended to have some secret plan, one of them thought about it, they knew it would upset me, and make me squeal. And I did it. I was like five years old and falling for eating a piece of chocolate for cleaning my room.

"I'm going to use the restroom," I said, quickly coming up with a plan of my own. "Then I'll explain. Okay? Everyone just, you know, calm down, eat a Twinkie, or a canary in some people's case. I'll be right back."

I stepped backwards, distancing myself from them all. I walked into the bathroom and closed it behind me, locking the door. The minute it was locked I started breathing heavily, pacing back and forth, trying to think of something. All I knew was that I had to get out of here. And quick.

I flushed the toilet and turned on the sink. Then I quickly turned around, opening the one window the bathroom had. I slid outside, resting on the window sill before jumping down on a part of the roof that was extended. Once on top of that, I jumped off, feeling my knees and feet quake from the fall and impact.

I turned towards the street and started running down the sidewalk as fast I could. I needed to get home as soon as possible then get the fuck out of this town. Did I want to leave? No. But I fucked up bad. People, especially Damon, knew way more about me then anyone should. I liked being confidential. I liked being alone. I was perfectly content on being by myself for the rest of my life. I can do that.

A truck pulled up next to me and I turned around sharply, afraid that it would be Stefan or Damon. But it wasn't - it was Matt, a blonde-haired, football player, who was quite cute really, that I had in three of my classes.

"Ava why are you running?" he asked with a harmless smile.

"Oh Matt!" I said happily, trying to catch my breath. "You saved my day. Do you think you could give me a ride to my house? I was doing a project at Elena's and I forgot something."

"Uh yeah sure," he said, a little skeptical but he was too nice of a kid to decline. "Get in."

I hopped in the truck and he drove off.

"Why didn't Elena take you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at my story, which was incredibly filled with holes.

"Oh," I said passively. "She was busy helping Jeremy with something. She said she would pick me up in a bit though."

Matt reluctantly accepted my answer and the rest of the car ride was silent. A minute later we reached my house, I said a quick thanks to Matt, and I ran inside my house. I grabbed various things that mattered to me - that Phoenix CD Damon had bought me, a few clothes, and my scrapbook - and shoved them into my cardboard box. I grabbed the box, my phone, and my keys and rushed outside, hoping to get to my motorcycle so I could leave this town as soon as possible.

I swung open my front door and almost dropped my box. Damon, Stefan, and Elena were on my porch, blocking my way towards my escape.

And they looked none too pleased.


	10. Chapter 10

"Hello," I said awkwardly. I laughed nervously and scratched the back of my head with my free hand. "I'm not interested in whatever it is you have to sell, so thank you."

I began to close the door but stopped at the sound of Damon's voice.

"Ava," was all he said.

I pulled back open the door and didn't bother to look at Elena or Stefan, just right at Damon. He wasn't smirking. You know, sometimes I preferred that face to all the other ones he made. I could really use a sly comment and that notorious smirk right now.

I put the box down, as it was getting heavy in my hands, and turned to face them again. "What?" I asked harshly. "What could you guys possibly want now?"

"Ava all we wanted to know-" Elena started but I cut her off.

"That's right you just _had_ to know right?" I asked, my anger boiling within me. "You just have to know everything right? Why did you _need_ to know? Was I posing a threat to you? Did I harm you in any way?"

They stood there in silence as I berated them. "So why did you have to know? Do you feel safer now that you know? More secure? No?" I was almost shouting. I'm sure my face was red and that my eyes were even redder. "Well congrat-u-fucking-lations. Now you know my secret. Now you're one step closer to nowhere, feeling happy that you know everything about everyone in Mystic Falls, not caring that you ruin lives in the process."

I slammed the door in their faces. I locked it, just to keep Elena out, then shut all the drapes on every window. I turned off all the lights in my house, making all the rooms so dark that I could barely see my hands in front of my face, then made my way to my room, crawling into my bed.

Fucking assholes, I thought. God, was Damon in this too? I hoped not. But why else would he be there? I thought he just followed me because he enjoyed my presence or liked to tick me off but now it makes more sense. He knew about the plan. He was just as curious as they were.

* * *

I stayed in bed for hours, wasting away my Saturday. I stayed in bed Sunday too, ignoring Damon's knocks on my front door the whole day. I didn't even go to school Monday or Tuesday just because I knew he would be waiting outside for me, wanting to talk to me or some bullshit.

It was Wednesday morning and I knew I had to go to school. If I missed another day, they'd expect a doctor's note or maybe they'd come to my house to see if I was okay, then realize I lived by myself. I grabbed an old t-shirt, slipped on some jeans, shoved on some eyeliner so I wouldn't look as dead as I felt, and grabbed my book bag on my way to the door.

I opened the door and peaked outside. Damon wasn't there. The only thing alive and on my property was a stray cat using my lawn as a litter box.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I locked the front door behind me and walked down the front lawn. The quicker to school the quicker it will be over. I hopped on my bike and floored it all the way to school, ignoring the hateful glances aimed my way when I cut people off or ran a red light. To be honest, I was just full of apathy at the moment. I didn't care if I lived or died. I had been betrayed.

I parked my bike in the parking lot, latched my helmet to the back, and made my way towards the school. People pushed past me, chattering loudly, only adding to my headache, some downing coffee, and others rapidly finishing the homework that was due today.

I was about to take my first step inside the school when someone grabbed my arm and dragged me away. The heat from their touch, the razor sharp feeling in my stomach - I knew who it was that was pulling me towards seclusion.

"Jesus, what is your problem?" I huffed angrily when he finally let go and we were far away from the mobs of students. "I bruise easily you know."

Damon was not amused but I hadn't expected him to be.

"What's wrong with you?" I questioned lightly. "Have a bad night's sleep?"

"Stop," he said forcefully and I almost took a step back. I fell silent, feeling as if I was about to be punished or lectured. "Where have you been for the past couple of days?"

"I was at home," I said, dropping my humorous ticks. If he wanted to be such an ass, then fine, I could be one too.

"Then why didn't you answer the door when I knocked? And why didn't you go to school the past two days?"

"Well, _dad_, I didn't feel like going. I'm an adult, I can make those decisions," I retorted.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I wanted to talk to you. I needed to tell you something."

"I'm listening."

He paused then said, "I wasn't a part of Elena or Stefan's plans. I didn't even know they were going to do that."

My face grew softer. "Are you being serious?"

"Shouldn't you know?" he asked, tapping his temple with his index finger. "Can't you know what I've been thinking these past couple of days?"

I opened my mouth then closed it. Oh God. "No," I said bluntly. "No I can't."

Damon pushed his eyebrows together in confusion. "Um, what?"

I took a giant step forward, so close that there was barely an inch between us. There was so much heat resonating in that small space that I was certain Damon, even under his cold skin, could feel it too.

"I can't read your mind," I said, my voice full of confidence and unwavering. "I can read everyone else's, every fucking pervert, freak, and bitch but for some reason," my index finger jabbed into his chest, "I can't read _your_ mind." I took a step back and crossed my arms. "You big jerk."

"Why?" he asked, avoiding my gaze and staring at the floor, deep in thought, the thoughts I couldn't listen in on.

"Like I know," I said.

He brought his head up and a giant smirk was present on his face. "That's why you haven't stopped talking to me, you can't hear what I think," he said. "I think so many dirty things about you Ava." He leaned closer and his fingers brushed against my bare elbows.

"Oh God," I said, shoving him away. "I don't need to read your thoughts to know that, thank you very much."

He laughed and his fingers crawled up my wrist to my elbow, where he lightly grabbed it and started to tug me away from school.

"What are you doing?" I questioned. "I have to go to school, thus was the reason I drove here."

"But Ava we haven't hung out in days and I miss you," he said mock-sweetly.

"Yeah well I don't want to hang out with _you_ right now," I said, trying to pull away but, of course, I was unsuccessful. "You just said you think dirty things about me and I'm slightly uncomfortable."

"Fine," he said, letting go of my arm and extending his arm towards the school. His smile grew wider as he continued, "then go to school."

I sighed and tapped my foot impatiently. Go to school or be with Damon? Why even weigh my options? They weren't even close to be equally the same thing.

I grabbed the front of his leather jacket and started to drag him away from the school.

"Mmm," he said from behind me. "I like where this is going."

I immediately let go. "You're going to ruin my fun if you keep being inappropriate."

He just continued to smirk as we made our way towards the parking lot. People were starting to stare at us, walking in the opposite direction, what with school starting in about five minutes. Also Damon did not look like he belonged in high school, more like three years into college, so a high school girl walking off with someone much older seemed to be taboo to these people. If only they knew how much older he was.

He stopped in front of my bike and held out his hand.

"What are you doing?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Where's your car?"

"I didn't take it," he responded.

"Okay well the sidewalk's that a-way," I said, pointing to the streets to the right.

"We're not walking," he said coyly. "You walk so slow."

"I walk at a normal, human rate, thank you. I'm sorry I can't keep up with your freakishly fast feet," I whispered so no one could hear us.

"Give me the keys Ava," he asked, taking a step forward.

"You are_ not_ driving my baby," I said. I pointed to the bike, shiny and radiating black from its recent wash. "She is the one happy thing in my life."

He rolled his eyes and in a quick second, he masterfully dug into my pocket and pulled out my keys.

I gaped at him. "You can't do that! You touched me without my permission! I could have you arrested Damon Salvatore!"

"Oh please," he said. He hopped on my bike, inserted the key, and revved the engine loudly, now making everyone in the parking lot look at us. "Come on now Ava. Everyone is staring."

I could bypass the fact that he stole my keys from my pocket. I could even overlook that he was going to be driving my only mode of transportation, something I never let anyone do. But what I couldn't do was forget the way he made me feel whenever I touched him. And riding on that bike with him would mean I would basically be straddling him and I don't know if I could withstand that amount of touching for that long. There would be a slight chance I would spontaneously combust.

I sighed angrily and swung my leg over the bike behind Damon. My chest touched his back lightly at first but when he peeled out of the parking lot, my arms shot across his chest and wrapped around him securely. There was no space between us. We were absolutely glued together.

My heart swelled to twice its size. All the hairs on my arms shot up, surges of what felt like electricity soared up and down every part of my body. Damon was remarkably warm for one thing - I could it feel it from underneath his shirt.

Have already gone this far, I leaned my head on his shoulder, breathing in his scent, something across a mixture of whiskey and aftershave. His hair ruffled against my forehead as the wind shoved it in my direction.

It was over all too soon. He pulled into the driveway of his house yet he didn't turn off the engine of the bike. He remained motionless, his head cocked down and his eyes shut. His face was blank and emotionless.

I slowly removed my arms and it was then I noticed they were shaking. I got off the bike as fast as I could, almost tripping over myself in the process but catching myself right before I hit the ground.

Damon let out a small chuckle. "You alright there?"

"I don't like riding bitch on a motorcycle," I said, hoping that would explain my dilapidated state.

"Well I loved riding it," he said, swinging the keys on his index finger. "I might just have to borrow your baby again sometime."

I grabbed the keys out of his hand. "Now that is _never_ going to happen."


	11. Chapter 11

I leaned into the stove, scrubbing the bottom so hard that I thought my arm was going to fall off. This thing was way dirtier then I had originally thought it was. It smelled like burnt cheese with a hint of dried meatloaf, a smell that was beginning to overpower the house. I figured that was a sign that maybe I should start to clean the old thing out.

**Knock, knock.**

The sudden sound made me jump and I banged my head on the top of the metal stove.

"Mother fucker!" I yelled, climbing out of the stove and rubbing the back of my head. "Oww." I whimpered in pain then threw the scrubber angrily at the floor. Damon better have a jar of peanut butter or an ice cream cone to make up for the pain he just caused me for banging loudly on my door.

I walked over to the front door, my hand still rubbing the soon-to-be bump growing on my head, and swung open the door.

Except it wasn't Damon. It was the two people I didn't even remotely want to see - Stefan and Elena.

"Why hello," I said. "Please excuse my profanity from a couple of seconds ago."

"Um, it's okay," Elena said.

"What's up?" I asked, hoping that if they needed something, a specialty of theirs, that I could give it to them and they would be on their way. I was still cross at them for making me spill my secret a couple of days ago.

"Look Ava," Elena said. "We're really, really sorry. We just feel awful for what we did to you; it wasn't right at all."

"We want to make it up to you," Stefan said. "We'll do anything, get you anything. Elena and I just want to be on good terms with you."

I tapped my finger on my chin. "Anything?"

"Sure," Stefan said.

"Well I am a little hungry," I said. "How about just a meal at The Grill?"

I was such a sucker for a free meal, I couldn't help it. Someone offers me free food and I'll do just about anything to get it. Was it just me or did everything taste better when you didn't pay for it or even make it?

"That sounds great," Elena said, a smile growing on her face.

"Just give me a second to clean up and I'll be right out," I said, closing the door behind me. I went into the kitchen and vigorously washed my hands, getting rid of the dirt and oil that had accumulated there during my cleaning session. I slipped on a nicer shirt, out of my dirty shorts, and into my good ol' regular jeans.

I opened the door and followed Elena and Stefan to Stefan's car. We hopped inside and Stefan turned the car on, accelerating down the street and towards the town square.

"So Damon's been seeing a lot of you, huh?" Stefan asked casually.

"Yeah I suppose."

"He told us about how you can't read his mind," Elena said.

"Yeah I figured he'd use it as something to gloat about," I said, expecting that he'd do that. Elena and Stefan smiled.

"Hey you guys," I said, leaning in between their seats. "Just do me and favor and try to keep this little thing quiet okay?"

"I promise we will Ava," Elena said, turning to look at me with a serious face.

"And once I get my meal, then all previous harm will be cleared and apologies will be accepted," I said.

We pulled into a nearby parking spot and all of us hopped out of the car. We walked inside and found a high top table near one of the pool tables. I quickly ordered a bacon cheeseburger with fries then nodded over to nearby empty pool table.

"Care for a game Stefan?" I asked, nodding my head towards the table.

"Sure," he said, smiling. "Do you mind Elena?"

"No go ahead," she said. "I just saw Bonnie, I'm going to check up on her."

"Don't say anything about her grandmother," I said quickly. Elena looked up at me in surprise. "She really, really doesn't want to talk about it." Elena looked across the restaurant at Bonnie. "Trust me," I added.

Elena nodded and got up. "Thanks for the warning," she whispered, then she was off walking towards Bonnie, who was sitting by herself and looking exceptionally depressed.

Stefan and I walked towards the pool table. He handed me a pool stick and started to stack the balls in the triangle.

"Want to break?" he asked.

"Eh, no," I said. "I'm not that good at pool."

Stefan placed the white ball down and then aimed his pool stick. A second later the white ball cracked against the others, the balls flying across the table, scattering in different directions. Except none went in.

It was my turn. I leaned down, aiming my stick at a solid colored ball. I jammed my stick against the ball and it went flying into the pocket.

A second later, I had two more solid balls into the pockets.

"You're going to hustle me aren't you?" Stefan asked.

I laughed, throwing my head back. "Yeah I am," I said. "We aren't playing for money though so it's all about the self satisfaction of catching someone by surprise."

Stefan smiled and shook his head. "You want a war? Well that's what you'll get."

My food came but I hardly ate it. Stefan and I were on our third game of pool; I had won the first game and he had won second. It all came down to this game.

"Can I ask you a question?" Stefan asked when I took a break to nab a fry from my plate.

"Sure," I said.

"Are you and Damon," he started but paused. He continued after a brief moment, "Together?"

I burst out laughing. "No," I said quickly. "No we're not."

"It's just that I've never seen him actually interested in someone like he is in you," Stefan said.

_Excluding Katherine._

My smile dropped. Stefan immediately realized that I read the thought that was in his head and he said quickly, "Did he tell you about her?"

"Only bits and pieces," I said, which in my head was code for almost completely nothing. And to be honest, I didn't want to know. The one time he said her name his face was filled with such hurt and loss that I never wanted to see it again. The way he talked about her, it was obvious he was still madly in love with her. And considering that I felt strongly about Damon, him feeling anything like that towards someone just ripped me to shreds.

"How do you feel towards Damon?" Stefan questioned.

I almost choked on the fry that was in my mouth. "I don't have feelings towards Damon," I said rapidly. "He's just…different from anyone I've met before. And he's one of the few people in this town I like. We have a lot in common." I caught myself beginning to ramble, one of my tendencies when I lied, so I stopped myself.

"Well believe it or not, you've actually been a good influence on him," Stefan said, smiling. "He hasn't been_that_ bad since you moved here."

"I'm glad I could help keep the town at peace," I said. "I'm here to offer my services."

Stefan and I shared a laugh. "Maybe I employ another one of your services then?" Stefan questioned, raising an eyebrow and leaning in so that no one could hear us.

"I'm listening."

"Read Mr. Allman's mind and get the answers to the English test next week."

I laughed and shoved Stefan. "It's going to cost you another bacon cheeseburger. Now kiss my hand godfather style." I put out my hand and Stefan cracked a grin as he pushed my hand down.

"Hey guys, sorry I took so long," Elena said, joining us. "Bonnie's still a total wreck since her grandma died."

"It's no problem," Stefan said. He grabbed Elena's left cheek, holding her face firm as he kissed her temple sweetly. She smiled and something tugged at my heart.

Blech.

A cell phone jingle went off and Stefan dug into his pocket. He looked down at the screen then back up at us. "I'll be right back," he said. He walked across the restaurant and out the front door.

"Hey Elena," I said. "How do you make things work between you and Stefan?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, he's a vampire," I said. "I know he doesn't drink human blood and all but I mean, you're going to grow older and he's not. Why even bother getting into a relationship when you can't fix something like that? Well I suppose there is one way but do you understand what I'm getting at?"

"Yeah I do," she said softly, still staring at the door Stefan exited at. "I don't know really. I just love him. I'd rather be with him one day then none at all."

The only image that was popping in my head was Damon.

"You like Damon don't you?" she asked.

I hesitated. I couldn't tell her my true feelings towards Damon. She would definitely tell Stefan. It's not like I minded that she seemed like the type of person to always blab to her boyfriend, it's real cute. But I just couldn't say anything. No way, not ever.

"No," I said. "I don't. I just wondered about you and Stefan. I've been to a lot of different places and I haven't seen a relationship as different as yours before."

"I suppose it is rather odd," she said, smiling.

I envied what she had. I envied that she jumped into a relationship with no right or wrong ending, just knowing that being with Stefan was the end result. She was lucky and foolish at the same time. And she had something that I could never have.


	12. Chapter 12

"Five hundred and twenty four?" I questioned, digging the eraser of my pencil into my temple.

"Close but no salami," Damon said, holding the calculator in his hands.

"You can't just make up sayings. It doesn't work like that," I said.

"And you can't just pretend I didn't notice your attempt to stop doing your homework," he countered slyly. "Now hurry up and finish."

I was laying on the porch, sprawled on my stomach with my Calculus textbook and homework in front of me. Damon was lounging on the wooden loveseat, simultaneously teaching me Calculus and ridiculing me. Let's just say that he was having more fun out of the two of us.

"I just need a break," I whined, rolling over to my back and pushing away my Calculus textbook.

"You won't get your peanut butter Oreos this way," he said disapprovingly.

"Let me ask you something," I said angrily. "You've been alive for forever-"

"And yet I am still _so_ good looking-"

"So you've established. But bare with me, try to not think about yourself for a minute here," I said, grinning at him. He rolled his eyes. "Have you ever used Calculus throughout the hundreds of years you've been alive?"

"No-"

"Ah ha!" I exclaimed. I slammed my textbook shut. "Case closed. Worthless information is not needed. I only have so much brain space; I cannot waste it on such frivolous things."

"Yet I don't exactly have a normal life now do I?"

"And neither do I, now do I?" I shot back.

"I suppose not," he said.

"Good," I said. "And now that my case has won, I pledge that I still receive my compensation of peanut butter Oreos."

"Denied," he said playfully.

"You hate me," I mock-cried, rolling over and throwing my arm over my face. "Don't look at me. I'm so depressed. So hurt. So _hungry_."

"And you call _me _a drama queen."

"I've been betrayed," I said. "How do you think I feel?"

"Ava-"

"Alright, alright," I said, rolling back over and grabbing my textbook. "I'll finish my homework. Just for you Mister Salvatore."

"That's the way I like it," he said cheerily. I hit him lightly on the shin and he laughed.

I continued working, writing down my answers, not checking or even caring if they were right or wrong. I was never quite good at homework but hand me a test or quiz and I could make up my own formulas in an instant and somehow end up with an A on it. Don't ask me how that happened - I just handled pressure and stress pretty well. Well, as long as Damon wasn't near that is.

"Hey Ava," Damon said, tearing my away from my work. I looked up at him and he continued, "Can you do me a favor?"

"If this is something dirty, I swear-"

"It's serious."

His tone implied that it was, in fact, serious. I nodded, waiting for him to go on.

"Don't go out at night by yourself, okay? If you need anything at night, even if it's a stupid pack of Oreos, call me."

I wanted to make a quip about Oreos but he was all too serious for that.

"Why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just trust me and say you'll do as I say."

"Okay I will but tell me why," I said.

"There's a group of vampires that are getting out of hand in the town. It's not safe anymore, especially at night. Promise me you won't do anything stupid," he said, almost pleading.

"I solemnly swear that I will only do stupid things _in_ my home," I said. "That's the best I can do for you."

He smirked and leaned his head against the house. "That's fine. I'll accept that."

I sat up, twisting my legs Indian-style, and this time forgetting all about my homework.

"So," I said. "There are more vampires in this town?"

"Yeah but they only come out at night or when it's not sunny so you haven't run into them," he said.

"What's happened to them?"

"They're getting finicky," he said. "It's hard for them to not make a scene and still hunt."

"How many are there?"

"A lot. Too many."

I gulped. That was not what I wanted to hear. As if I needed another reason to be afraid at night, now I'll_always _be freaked out during that time. A lot of vampires just roaming the town during the night? I am never, ever leaving my house once it gets a shade darker.

"Just do as I say and you won't have anything to worry about," he said when he saw how concerned I got.

"Why did all of them come here?" I asked.

He hesitated. "I don't know," he said, avoiding my gaze. Now _he_ was a bad liar. But even if he did have something to do with it, I didn't want to know. I wanted to keep him as innocent as I could. Which was always becoming increasingly harder.

I looked down at the floor and bit my lip. One vampire? Two? I could handle that. Three? You're pushing it. Now there were apparently so many vampires in this town that it would be like committing suicide to even step outside at night. Ugh. I wasn't feeling well.

"You're really freaked out about this aren't you?"

I looked up at him. There was no point in hiding how scared I was. What could I even say? Oh twenty vampires? Piece of cake. Like I give a fuck. Please.

"Ava," Damon said, his face growing soft. "You'll be okay I promise."

I gave him an are-you-kidding-me look.

"You won't be hurt as long as I'm here," he said. "Okay?"

"Okay," I squeaked out. I looked down at the floor then a second later I raised my head, a growing smile present on my face. "So you'll get me Oreos at three in the morning, huh? If I call and ask for them?"

He rolled his eyes at me and refused to answer my question.

"That's when I crave them you know," I played, poking his shin.

In a flash he grabbed my finger, stopping me from poking him. I squealed loudly, giggling as I tried to yank my finger away but Damon wouldn't let go. I pulled and pulled, pushing my hand in every direction but he would not let go. He started grinning, enjoying the fact that all my efforts were futile.

"Hey hey wait," he said, grabbing my hand with his free hand to steady it. He turned over my hand, exposing my forearm. He let go of my finger and used his own to trace mine - starting at my fingertips then sliding down to my scar in the center of my forearm.

"I've always wanted to know how you got that," he said, his fingertips so light and creamy as they ran up and down the long scar on my flesh.

My breathing tightened. The words I wanted to say were blurred in my head. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate.

"Car accident," I said, staring at his fingers as they moved back and forth.

"Did it hurt?" he asked, using his eyes to look straight at me.

"Yes," I responded.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice no higher then a whisper.

His fingers didn't stop. They moved away from my scar and now covered the entire canvas of my forearm, running up and down, from my fingertips to my elbow.

I finally got the courage to look him in the eyes. They were piercing, wide, and deep. I had never seen him look that way before. It was beyond scintillating - it was as if he and I were trapped in a bubble, excluded from the world around us. It was passionate, it was filled with every emotion on the planet.

My cell phone vibrated in my pocket and I jumped. Damon tore himself away from me quickly, taking his hands away and shoving himself as distant as possible from my presence. He leaned back into the bench.

I grabbed my cell phone from my pocket and saw that Elena was calling.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey Ava. Where are you? I'm at the Grill and I don't see you," she responded.

Oh shit.

I looked the time on my phone. It was 2 PM and I was supposed to meeting Elena, something I had completely forgotten since Damon came over.

"I'll be there in two minutes. Sorry Elena," I said.

I hung up the phone and ran into the house, grabbing my jacket and keys as quickly as possible. I ran back out into the porch but it was useless.

Damon had already left.


	13. Chapter 13

"I am _so_ sorry I'm late," I breathed out the second I reached Elena's table at The Grill. "I totally lost track of time."

"It's okay, it's okay, jeez," she said, smiling. "Come on, you need a Coke and a grilled cheese." She motioned for me to sit and I did.

"You know me all too well Elena," I said, grinning.

"Thanks for coming," she said once our orders were placed. "I really need help in English and you're the best in the class."

"Hey it's no problem," I said, leaning back in my chair.

The Grill was oddly empty at this time on a Sunday afternoon. There was only one guy at the bar, drinking alone by himself, and a couple of other people scattered at various tables. They all seemed to be having hushed conversations, as the music coming from the sole jukebox was louder then all of them combined. Not like I minded - what with crowded places usually being pretty annoying for me.

"So," Elena said, taking out the current book we were reading in English, 'The Sound and The Fury', "what I don't understand-"

"Hey Elena," came a perky voice to our right.

It was some girl named Caroline. Blonde and exceptionally perky, she smiled down at Elena. Then she looked over at me and her face warped into a different emotion - hatred. It was as if she immediately transformed the minute she laid eyes on me.

"Hello Ava," she spat out, addressing me as if I was scum on the bottom of her shoe.

I raised an eyebrow at her hostility. Seriously what is wrong with this chick? I haven't even had a conversation with her the entire time I've been in Mystic Falls so how could she even have a reason to hate me? Now I suppose was the time to find out.

_Why aren't you with Damon, you bitch. I bet he just loves spending time with you. Not like I ever meant that much to him. He'll hurt you too._

My face grew red hot and I avoided her gaze. Damon was with her? I mean, sure, she was physically attractive, something I'm sure a lot of the guys in this town loved and went after all the time. But her voice alone made me want to punch my own face multiple times. And her personality was another thing altogether.

It only meant that if Damon liked girls like her, I was no way in his league. I wasn't even in the same continent. Now _that_ hurt.

"I'll see you later Elena," Caroline said, turning on her heel and going to sit in an empty booth in the back.

"Sorry about her," Elena said once she was out of earshot. "She just doesn't like you-"

"Around Damon I know," I finished for her.

"Look Ava," she said. "There's something I have to tell you about Damon."

I looked up at her, my face filled with curiosity.

"He was with Caroline," she said. She looked thoughtfully to the side then added, "Kind of. It's a little hard to describe their relationship."

"She thinks Damon and I are together," I said. "She thinks he'll hurt me or whatever."

I grabbed the book from across the table and started thumbing through the pages, looking for the chapter that we were currently on in class.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Elena said slowly.

"Huh?" I asked, still looking through the pages and only really half-listening to what Elena said.

"He really hurt Caroline," she said.

"Well break-ups really do suck," I added. I finally stopped looking and said, "Ah ha - here is where we are-"

"He_ really_ hurt Caroline," Elena said, her tone so significant that I immediately started to pay attention.

"What's going on Elena?" I asked suspiciously.

"Look Ava, I know you and Damon are close but I feel like he's not telling you the whole truth and you of all people deserve it," she said. She took a breath, looked over at Caroline, then back at me. "He used Caroline. He would get her in these trances to do things for him and he would feed on her. He didn't care about her - she was just food to him."

I couldn't think. I couldn't register what Elena just said; I just sat there motionless and blinking like an idiot. I shifted my eyes towards Caroline and watched her for a split second. In that time, she lifted the hair hanging around her neck over her shoulder, revealing an almost faded scar present on her neck. A bite mark.

Now I had always just figured that Damon would go out into the night and feed on people. I mean that's just what he did. But I tried to never think about it. His vampire side wasn't the side I knew - I knew his laid-back personality, his mischievous little smirk, his witty words. I didn't know the side that fed on people or even, possibly, killed people.

And now I saw it in real life - a scar of his actions clear in the day right on a girl from school. I just couldn't believe it. He used this girl like she was a rag doll. Sucking her almost dry, becoming his puppet as he pulled the strings.

What if _I_ was becoming that girl? What if he was waiting for his opportune moment to use me like he used Caroline? He did say I tasted delicious and at that time I thought he was just being annoying but now I felt as if it was a sign that I shouldn't have missed.

How could even do that to somebody? The whole thing made my stomach queasy. I felt like throwing up my breakfast. It hurt. It hurt really bad.

"I need to go," I whispered, standing up and ignoring Elena's pleas to stay. I raced out of The Grill, hopped on my motorcycle, and drove as fast as I could home.

I got there in under five minutes. I barely parked my bike on the driveway then rushed up the porch steps, throwing open my front door, running inside, then locking it behind me. I slide down the door, my chest heaving, my eyes stinging.

I really wished I had never come to this town at all.

* * *

It was midnight when he knocked on my door.

"Oh Ava," he called out. "Ava, darling." I heard something shake from the other side of the door. "I got you Oreos as your hunger for it will be approaching in a couple of hours."

I stood on the opposite side of the door, my hand hanging motionless before the door knob. I didn't know how to even look at him, let alone what to say to him. I felt like I couldn't even face him. I just wished he would disappear from my life - that would make things so less complicated.

"Ava?" he called out.

I reached down and put my hand on the doorknob. I twisted it slowly then opened the front door, not going out, staying firmly inside.

"Jeez, final-"

He stopped as soon as he saw my face. His face dropped. "What's going on?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

I opened my mouth but couldn't formulate the words. I closed it, shook my head, then rubbed my forehead. I had to do this, even though it hurt so much.

I looked back up at him. "I know," I said, faltering, "I know what you did to Caroline."

"Ava-"

"No," I interrupted him. "I know what you have to do to stay alive, being a vampire and everything. But how?_How_ Damon? How could you do that to that girl?"

He didn't say anything. He just continued to look at me with such an apologetic look. A look like he wanted to take back whatever I had just learned.

"Who told you?" he asked angrily. His voice grew loud and demanding. He was almost shaking. "Was it Stefan? Elena?"

It was silent for a minute, me not wanting to answer that question, him trying to get his breathing under his control, his temper down.

"Damon," I said and when he looked at me, his anger vanished.

"Ava, please," he said. "I'm not like that anymore."

"How do I know that?" I asked, this time my voice rising. "Because you haven't done it in a couple of months? That means you've changed?"

"Please-"

"I don't think you should come around anymore," I said quickly.

I had never seen Damon look hurt before. It was the only emotion he was wearing right now.

I looked down at my feet, unable to look at him any longer. It wasn't right, nothing in the past 24 hours had been right. I shouldn't be friends with a vampire, or anything else for that matter. Damon shouldn't have treated Caroline like that. More importantly, Elena shouldn't have told me because I could be ignorantly in bliss right now, still enjoying Damon's presence and having a smile on my face every single night I fell asleep.

"Damon-" I started, looking up.

But he was gone.


	14. Chapter 14

I pushed my shopping cart down the small isle, my face in a permanent frown and my eyebrows pushed together in thought. I hardly even noticed my surroundings and couldn't even remember the walk over to Mystic Fall's only grocery store. Everyday for the past week had been a blur; a period of time I wanted to be over as soon as possible.

I hadn't seen Damon in a week, since that terrible encounter on my porch. And in that past week, I felt the same feeling of loneliness I experienced when my parents died. That feeling of knowing there is no one you can talk to, no one who cares about whether or not you're sad or happy. I hated how close I had become to Damon over these past couple of months. I hated how I had let myself think that it was even remotely possible to have more then a friendship with him.

More importantly, I hated that I had to learn about Caroline.

I grabbed a box of Cheerios off the rack and threw it carelessly into my cart. I walked up and down the isles, looking at both sides twice, but I just wasn't in the mood for anything. Not even peanut butter. And if that's not a clear indication of my disheveled state, I don't know what is.

I wanted to see Damon so bad. I found it obnoxious how much I missed him. But no matter how much I wish I could see him, I could never bring myself to hop on my bike and ride over to his house.

I'll get over it, I told myself. I was saying it so much lately that it seemed to become my catchphrase.

I paid for my box of Cheerios and a giant liter of Mountain Dew, then left the store, feeling as antisocial as ever. The walk home was brutal - the sun was so bright and hot that sweat formed on every crevice of my body. And I was wearing a black shirt and jeans so it only made it hotter. I sighed, exasperated. It seemed I was making all the worse decisions.

When I got home I didn't even bother to put away the food. I just threw it on the kitchen counter then walked into the living room and plopped lazily on the couch.

I was about five minutes into a nap when my cell phone rang. Feeling my heart jump, I quickly dug it out of my pocket but my face fell when I realized it was just Elena, not Damon.

"Hey," I said lightly into the phone.

"Hey Ava," Elena answered, his voice soft and caring.

"What's up?"

"Look I know you've been kind of….off this week," she commented. "Why don't you come down to The Grill and I'll buy you something to eat?"

The thought of a free meal didn't even stir me. _God_ - I really was messed up.

"No thanks," I said. "I'm not hungry."

"Come on Ava," Elena said. "You really need to get out of the house. And it'll just be me and you. We can talk about Damon or we don't ever have to. You just really need to go out, get some fresh air."

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. Maybe she was right. Maybe I just did need some sort of social contact, to talk to someone about how crappy I was feeling, or not even. Just to have someone there next to me, attempting to make me feel better.

"Alright," I caved. "I'll meet you in ten okay?"

"Great," Elena said. "See you soon."

I hung up the phone and got up, stretching my arms up and going up on my tippy toes to stretch my legs. I yawned and brought my arms down. Alright. Let's do this I suppose.

I hopped in the shower real quick and was out in two minutes. I put my jeans back on but opted for my favorite shirt - the Phoenix shirt with the sleeves cut so low that the side of my torso was exposed. Not bothering to brush my hair, I walked out of the house, locking it behind me, then making my way to my bike. I put on my helmet, inserted the keys, revved the engine loudly, then sped to The Grill.

I got there in five minutes. I hooked my helmet to the back of my bike then walked inside The Grill.

Elena was sitting at a table by herself, talking to one of the waitresses that went to our school. I made my way over, the waitress waved to me then excused herself, and I sat down at the table.

"You look like hell Ava," Elena said with a smile.

I laughed and put my hand against my cheek. "Yeah I know, thanks."

She chuckled and put on a lopsided, sympathetic smile. "Damon's the same way."

"Let's not talk about Damon," I said quickly, although my body tinged when she said that.

"Sounds good to me."

Elena and I ordered food when the waitress walked by, chitchatted about random things, like school, something about a Founder's Day celebration coming up, and about how ridiculous Evan Moore looked across The Grill in his new bright pink shirt. I was feeling a little better, getting closer and closer (albeit by small margins) to my old self. Elena was right - I just needed to get out of the house and actually do something productive, instead of wallowing in my self pity all day and night.

"Ava," Elena said, leaning in and whispering, "Don't look now but Tom from our Chemistry class is definitely checking you out."

"Oh God Tom?" I said, pretending to gag. "You mean, 'I-talk-loud-when-I'm-nervous' Tom?"

Elena and I burst out laughing.

"He's over your right shoulder, near the pool tables," Elena said. "And he's looking at you like you're the last woman on the planet."

I brought my head to the right and pretended to cough while my eyes scanned towards the pool tables. Dear God she was right. Tom look hopelessly at me, his eyes wide and deep, his face pained as he realized he had been caught. He quickly pretended that his shoes needed to be tied. All he did was fumble around with the laces for about a minute.

I looked back over at Elena. "I think I'd rather become a lesbian then ever go out with Tom," I said.

"Ouch," Elena said with a smile. "I don't think you should say that to him."

"Oh but I love to be brutally honest," I said coyly.

Elena giggled then all of a sudden she clamped her hand over her mouth in an effort to suppress her laughter. "He's coming over," she mumbled quietly. "I'm going to die."

"Just look at the menu," I said, grinning widely and shoving one of the menus at her. "You're the one that's going to make him feel bad if you keep laughing the entire time."

Elena bit her lip and stared at the menu as if was more then just words describing various pieces of food.

"Hey Ava," I heard from my left. Tom had approached our table and he seemed anxious. His hands were stuffed into his pockets and he kept shifting his weight from his right to left side.

"Hi," I said, "What's going on Tom?"

"Nothing," he said loudly. He cleared his throat then tried again. "N-Nothing. What's up with you girls?"

"Just enjoying a lovely early dinner with my good friend Elena," I remarked.

"Early?" Tom questioned, raising an eyebrow. "You realize it's like eight o'clock right?"

I looked back at Elena who snapped her head up. It was night. A time both of us knew wasn't a good time to be out.

"No," I said slowly. "I didn't."

"I'll call Stefan to come pick us up," Elena said quickly. "Don't worry about it."

I nodded and Tom seemed confused at how finicky we appeared. "You girls okay?"

"We're fine," I said, waving him off. "Nice seeing you Tom." Baffled, Tom scratched his head and walked away.

God, I wanted to punch myself in the face. Time totally flew by and I hadn't even noticed it at all. Well I suppose everything was alright; Stefan was going to pick us up and make sure we both got home safely.

"He's not picking up," Elena said and she pressed the End button on her phone. She frowned at her phone then looked up at me. "I'll send him a text message; maybe he's away from the phone."

"Right," I said. "Sounds good."

Elena began typing away on her phone and just then mine began to vibrate. She looked up at the vibration and I took out my phone. It was an unknown number, which wasn't that weird considering I only had like three people's numbers saved in my contacts and I had given my number to a couple of other people over time.

I pressed the green button and brought my phone next to my ear.

"Hello?" I answered.

There was a static sound and a muffled response but I couldn't make out anything they were saying. I brought my phone down and eyed the service bars in the corner of the screen. I didn't have any service in this place. I grunted and brought my phone up again.

"Hello?" I asked again but I only got the same response - a muffle voice and static.

I ended the call and Elena asked, "Who was that?"

"I don't know," I said. "I don't have any freakin' service in this place." I shrugged. "Whatever I guess."

I was about to put my phone away when it began to vibrate again. It was the same number.

"Look," I said. "I'm going to step outside for like two seconds to answer this."

"Ava-"

"I'll be fine Elena," I said. "It's only eight o'clock. I'm sure other people are around and I'll be right by the front door of The Grill."

She contemplated what I just said. "Alright, that sounds harmless," she said. "I'll keep trying Stefan."

I nodded and got up, walking towards the front door of The Grill.

That would be one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made.


	15. Chapter 15

I walked outside The Grill and stayed right near the front door - like I said I would. I pressed the answer button on my phone then brought it up to my ear.

"Hello?" I tried again.

This time there was no static. There was just pure silence. Then the line clicked dead.

I grunted angrily. It was probably a stupid telemarketer or a crank caller. People really have the nerve these days.

I turned back around and was about to open the door to get back inside when I heard a soft scream coming from the other side of The Grill, where there was nothing but a small alley where they piled all the garbage from that day's food. My heart jumped. My hand hesitated by the door handle.

I heard the soft moan again.

"Fuck," I whispered. I turned around and headed towards the side of the restaurant, walking as quietly as I could down the dark alley, where my eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness and shapes and forms were becoming prominent.

I knew this was a bad idea, that I should have just gone back inside The Grill and sat in my warm, comfy chair. But how could I just possibly ignore someone possibly getting hurt? I would feel worse if I had just ignored them. What if it was me and I needed help?

I abruptly stopped walking when I saw them. My mouth opened in fear and I stopped breathing, afraid that it would make a noise. My eyes grew wide and I began to shake.

A long, strong outline of a man was sucking the neck of a girl that I had seen in the hallways of my school. She gave a small shriek but it was useless; she was obviously incredibly weak and unable to get away.

My heart beat quickened and adrenaline coursed through my veins. I had to help her. This girl was dying right before my eyes.

I looked around me and notice a pile of garbage by my side. There was an assortment of crap just piled there - hamburger buns, old meat, a rusty pan, someone's dirt and grease stained shirt, and an old wooden broom. I suppose the latter would suffice.

I leaned down quietly, grabbed the broom, then quickly snapped it in half, using my knee to break it.

The vampire looked in my direction at the sudden sound. His mouth and jaw were covered in blood and his eyes were completely black.

"Tsk tsk," I said as he threw the girl down on the floor. She gasped and sputtered for breath. "You know that's quite rude of you."

The grin grew on his face as he began to approach me. "You shouldn't be so noisy," he countered, his voice hoarse.

"Oh I'm just a good Samaritan," I commented.

I wish I could have felt as brave as I sounded. On the inside I was scared out of my mind. I could barely even move - my arms and legs felt like jelly. The only thing keeping me standing was the adrenaline; it was all I was running on.

He cackled. "You're also seconds."

In a split second he was gone. I blinked my eyes multiple times but he had completely disappeared. But that didn't mean he wasn't still here.

I turned around sharply and he was right behind me, no more then a few inches away. I raised my hand, balling it into a fist, but he was much quicker and stronger then I was. He easily grabbed my wrist and pushed me back, sending me flying and slamming into the brick wall of The Grill.

I groaned in pain as I slide down the wall, my body burning from the contact. I picked myself up, staggering but getting up.

The vampire laughed mockingly. A trickle of blood coming from the side of my head slide down my face, hanging loosely by the edge of my chin. The vampire immediately stopped laughing. He sniffed the air then his eyes turned sharply to the line of blood across my face. His eyes grew blacker and his smile faded.

"That," he said softly. "Smells _wonderful_."

He bared his teeth and hissed violently. He ran towards me and before I could even react he was in front of me. He grabbed my throat and lifted me up, my feet rising from the ground. I grunted and kicked him in the chest with all the strength I had but he barely flinched.

He threw me again and I landed several feet away on the concrete floor, face first. My face slammed against the hard surface and I felt it burn the side of my face as I skidded a couple of inches. I cringed but remained motionless, holding the piece of wood in my hand strongly.

I heard him take several steps towards me. His feet clicked against the ground and like a sonar, I listened to them and guessed where he was. I wasn't going to lose. And I definitely wasn't going to die.

When he got close I turned over quickly, rising my arm up and stabbing him in the heart with the wooden stake in my hand. He opened his mouth, sputtering. His eyes rolled to the back of his head then he fell to the side, his body shriveling up and becoming nothing more than a wrinkled mass.

I breathed heavily and tried to control myself.

The girl, I thought.

I got up quickly and ran over to the girl, who was motionless. I kneeled down by her side and I put my hand to mouth to suppress my cries. Her eyes were closed and she was no longer breathing. She was nothing more then a heap on the floor, her body pale from the lack of blood.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry uncontrollably. But I had to get out of here. I had to find Elena and get back inside The Grill.

I got up and turned but ran right into someone's chest.

"Well well well," said a voice, demeaning and threatening. "That was quite a show, don't you think Adam?"

I stumbled back, away from the two men that were now blocking my path back to The Grill. There were both large, just like the last one, with strong muscles and sharp faces.

The man who just talked licked his teeth, exhibiting razor sharp fangs. The other one grinned devilishly and said, "She really does smell good."

"You really hurt our friend over there," said the other one. "That wasn't very nice."

I kept taking small steps back but I knew there was no way out of here. I almost died killing one vampire; that was all I could handle.

"Come here love," the guy named Adam said. "You'll only feel a pinch, I swear."

In a flash, one of them grabbed my arms and threw me across the alley. I landed in a pile of garbage and groaned as my body hit it. I felt as if my entire body was covered in burns from rubbing against the concrete, getting thrown around as if I weighed nothing more then a feather.

I was grabbed by my hair and dragged towards the middle of the alley. Adam held my head and body down as I wiggled and struggled, trying desperately to push him off of me. He leaned down and licked the line of blood on the side of face. He shuttered, closing his eyes and savoring the taste.

I got one of my arms free and struck him in the temple with my elbow. He staggered off of me and I got up quickly but was easily pinned down again by his friend.

"You stupid bitch," said his friend, putting his hands on me to make sure I couldn't move.

I spit in his face. He growled angrily, picked up his hand, and punched me right in the mouth. I screamed in pain and blood poured out of my mouth like a waterfall.

The one I struck in the face came over. His shoe lightly stepped on my fingers as he leaned in and whispered, "Now are you going to apologize?"

With all my might, I moved my lips into a crooked smile. "Fuck you, you homoerotic cow," I spat out.

Both of the vampires glared at me, their look vehement and agitated. One of them bared their teeth again, hissed loudly, and plunged towards me.

I closed my eyes, bracing for more pain, but it never came. There were muffled sounds as the pressure on top of me disappeared. There was a fight - more sounds, not just from the vampires that were once beating me - and it seemed as if all the items in the alley were being pushed around and shoved. I didn't know what was going on or what was happening - my eyes were still shut tight and I was afraid of what I would see when I opened them.

I curled into a ball and tried to think about something else. I tried to not think about how much blood was pouring out of my mouth, face, and head. I tried to not think about how much pain I was in, how every limb, every inch of my body hurt with such an intensity that I thought I was dying. But it was all I could think about because it was all I could feel.

The fighting sounds became distant. I felt myself fading away, the adrenaline slowly disappearing.

A hand was placed on my bare bicep. I yelled and squirmed, ready for Round 2, desperate to keep fighting. I swung my arms around, hoping I could get a lucky shot and strike them in the face.

"Ava! Ava!" came a voice that I had been wanting to hear for so long.

I stopped flailing my arms and opened my eyes. Damon was leaning down next to me, his face contorted in pain as he took in every ounce of my current state. The bloody mouth, the scrapes, the burn marks, the bruises.

"Damon," I whispered, staring straight at him, ignoring the shriveled bodies of the now three vampires piled up in the alley and the worried Stefan and Elena, off in the distance, Elena latched onto Stefan, holding him.

"I'm here," he said softly. "You're safe."

I began to cry. The pain, Damon coming to save me even though I told him that I could never see him again, me almost being on the brink of death - it was all so overwhelming. Damon moved closer to me and in a flash I was in his arms, my head in the crook of his neck. His arms fastened around me, tight, and I held onto him, never wanting to let go.

"You're okay," he whispered into my ear. "You're okay."

I held onto him tighter and stopped crying. My fingers were clawing into his back, I was so afraid he would leave.

"We need to get you out of here," he said, his fingers running down my hair delicately. "We'll go to my house and I'll take care of you."

I nodded softly and was going to get up when Damon put his arms underneath me and easily picked me up. Carrying me bridal-style, I leaned against his chest, unable to look at Elena or Stefan. We got into Stefan's car, Stefan jumping in the driver's seat with Elena next to him, and Damon in the back with me.

I sat there motionless, resting against Damon, while he softly placed his head on top of mine, his fingers never stopping running through my hair.

p of mine, his fingers never stopping running through my hair.


	16. Chapter 16

Damon carried me into the kitchen of his home, placing me onto the counter near the sink. Elena and Stefan went into the living room instead, giving us our time alone. I sat upright and leaned against the wooden cabinets, trying not to grimace when the sudden body movement felt as if someone had just punched all of my bruises.

Damon opened one of the nearby cabinets and pulled out a giant first aid box. It was covered in dust and there was a small cobweb hanging loosely on the side.

"Doesn't come in handy too often does it?" I asked lightly, not being able to help myself. My throat burned when I spoke and my mouth felt wet. I leaned over the sink and spit out the excess blood in my mouth.

Damon didn't even smile. His face was hard and he was still overall upset at the whole incident. His hands were still balled up into fists, his knuckles white with the effort he squeezed them at. Everything about his face was sharp and concentrated.

He closed his eyes, placed his hands on the rim of the counter, and took several deep breathes. I saw his fingers dig into the marble counter and I felt as if it was going to break any second if he kept holding it that tight.

"Damon," I said, cringing again when a burst of blood swam in my mouth.

He brought his head up, opened his eyes, and looked at me. I pretended to look over his shoulder, at something in the living room. He followed my gaze and looked over his shoulder, trying to see what I was looking at. I took this opportunity to spit into the sink again.

He swiveled his head back over and I smiled sheepishly.

He mock-glared at me and said, "I know it's going to be hard for you, but you have to stop talking."

I put a hand over my heart and pretended to look hurt. A small smile dabbled on his face and he opened the first aid kit, pulling out hydrogen peroxide, gauze, band-aids, and disinfectant. He went over to the sink, yanked out a paper towel nearby, and lightly dabbed it with water.

He moved in front of me, positioning himself in between my legs. He lightly stroked the side of my face, cleaning up the dried blood that had gathered there. I grimaced as he moved down, closer to my mouth. He immediately pulled back, not wanting to hurt me. After about a second, I nodded for him to continue and he did, wiping all the dried blood off my face, having to use more paper towels as time went on.

My face finally clean of blood, he gave me an ice pack to place on my head as he cleaned the scrapes on my arms and torso. Everything stung when it touched me and I tried hard not to cringe every time but this part was beginning to feel worse then the actual fight itself.

After about fifteen more minutes, he threw away the last paper towel. He delicately wrapped my arm with the gauze and placed a couple of band-aids in some small spots.

"There," he said, putting away the First Aid kit. "I wouldn't necessarily say you're at your prime but-"

I shoved his shoulder playfully and formed my hand into a gun, cocked it, and pretended to shoot Damon.

"You're so much nicer when you can't speak," he said.

I stuck my tongue out at him. I began to pantomime putting a pillow over his head then holding it down to suffocate him. He merely rolled his eyes and I hobbled my way off the counter. I looked down, saw that my favorite shirt was ripped, exposing almost my entire stomach. I moaned and held up the strands of my shirt, dirty and stretched. I jutted out my bottom lip and looked at Damon, puppy-eyed and actually slightly upset by this.

"It _was_a good shirt," he commented.

I slowly opened my mouth, stretching it to see if I could finally speak without blood accumulating there. I'm sure I looked absolutely stunning now - blood probably staining my teeth, my eyes swelled and black, a line of bruises running up and down my side. It's funny that_that's_what I think about at a time like this. I wasn't frustrated, vengeful that I had been almost beat to death by some crazy vampires; no, I was upset at the fact that I looked like a pile of garbage in front of Damon.

"I can talk now," I said happily. "I hope you enjoyed yourself in those few moments of silence."

"It was pure bliss. Come on," he said, putting his arm around my shoulders and helping me walk towards the living room.

Elena and Stefan were seated on the couch but immediately stood up when Damon and I entered.

"You look better," Elena said kindly, giving me a sympathetic smile.

"Elena and I were talking," Stefan said. "and we think it would be best if you stayed here for the night. It would be dangerous to be out at this time." He put an arm around Elena. "Elena's going to stay here too."

"Oh I do love sleepovers," I said nonchalantly.

Stefan smiled. "There's a spare room up-"

"She'll stay with me," Damon said quickly. Stefan looked straight at Damon, his face etched in an unrecognizable emotion, but Damon was looking down at me intently.

"Okay," Stefan said. "Why don't we all head to bed? It's been a long night."

"I hope you feel better Ava," Elena said warmly, coming over and placing a hand on my shoulder. She gave me a small smile then followed Stefan out of the room.

"She's crazy," I said once they left and turning to look at Damon. "I feel fine. In fact, I'm full of energy."

"_Great_," Damon said, smirking at me. "I think I'll need to slip you some Ambien."

"Come on," I said, grabbing his hand and tugging him as I walked out of the living room. "Show me to my quarters. I am your guest and shall be treated as such."

He laughed softly and moved in front of me, so that he was dragging and leading me. I didn't let go of his hand and his grip never loosened. I didn't want to let go - not ever.

He went up the stairs then walked down a narrow hallway to the room all the way in the back. He put his free hand on the doorknob then pushed open the door, revealing an insanely large room. A giant bed was positioned in the center, black sheets and a large, grey silk blanket. Wooden bookshelves lined the walls, filled with antique books, musty and old. There was a thin plasma TV hanging on the opposite wall of the bed and a large dresser with a floor-length mirror beside it. Everything in the room seemed like it was expensive, valuable yet extremely plush and comfortable.

"_This_is your room?" I questioned, my mouth opened as I stared at all the furniture.

It did smell like him in here, that combination of spice and cologne. And oddly enough, it seemed to fit him. The room itself wasn't necessarily elaborate but everything had it's place and everything was a dark, broody color.

"Were you expecting something else?" he asked, shutting the door behind us.

"Where's your coffin?" I asked, grinning and poking him in the chest. I skipped over to a nearby coat rack and put my hand around it. "Is there where you put your cape?" I then pointed to a window. "And is that where you fly out of when you turn into a bat?"

"I preferred you when you were half conscious and mute," he said, chuckling and advancing towards me.

"You're not a stereotypical vampire," I said, taking a step back, smiling. "I have to pretend you do this stuff because you just bore me so much."

"Silly human," he said, narrowing his eyes. He lifted up his hands as he came closer and I shrieked, trying to run away from him. He grabbed me in a second and his fingers tickled my sides. I yelped again and began to laugh hysterically.

I shoved him away and he took a step back, a giant smirk on his face.

"You better watch out," I said. "I killed one vampire tonight, don't make me kill another one." I put my arms up boxer style and punched the air in front of me.

"It is going to be impossible to get you to go to sleep," Damon said, rolling his eyes.

"All I need to do is watch a movie and crawl into bed," I said. "Do you have anything I can change into?" I pointed to his dresser. "May I snoop?"

"By all means," he said. "You are a guest."

"Our relationship is so much healthier when you just agree to everything I say," I commented, turning around and walking to his dresser. I pulled open one drawer and looked at the contents. There were a couple of boxers, socks, and those v-neck solid black shirts Damon always wore. I grinned and grabbed a pair of his plaid boxers then closed the dresser.

"Is that your bathroom?" I asked, pointing to a door near me.

Damon nodded and I excused myself, walking inside the bathroom. The entire room was black marble, from the floor to the large bathtub that took up almost half of the room. I tried not to marvel, as I seemed to be doing that every time I stepped into a different room in this house.

I slid off my dirty jeans and slipped on Damon's boxers. I peeled off my ruined shirt, holding it in my hands, saying a silent prayer, wishing it well in the shirt to the afterlife and thanking it for all the good times we had, then threw it away in the small garbage can underneath the sink.

I looked at myself in the mirror, wearing Damon's boxers and my black sports bra. I hadn't bothered to steal a shirt from him. It would probably just irritate my skin, rubbing against the burns present on my torso, and I also, sort of kinda, wanted Damon to think I was attractive. And how better else to do that then walk out half-naked? It was the only plan I had and, quite honestly, the only thing I had going for me right now considering my face looked like a giant plum.

I walked out of the bathroom and gaped at Damon, who was unbuttoning his shirt. His chest was exposed, showing a smooth, rock hard stomach. I gulped.

He raised his head and looked at me as I exited. His eyes slowly scanned by body and his hands stopped.

_Bingo_, I thought happily.

I jumped into his bed and crawled underneath his covers. Ah, it was definitely as comfortable as it looked. Probably even more. I hadn't slept in a bed this comfortable for years. I rolled around in the covers, smiling, and feeling instantly better.

"You're so weird," Damon said, walking into the bathroom and closing the door.

He said that like he didn't know that already. Pft.

I grabbed the TV remote from the bedside table and turned it on. I flipped through the channels and gasped when I saw that 'Friends' was on. I squealed happily, turned up the volume, then put the remote on the bedside table. I got out of the covers, leaned my back on the headboard, and sat Indian style, watching one of my favorite shows ever. This was definitely what I need to make me feel better.

Damon walked out of the bathroom, now in long, grey sweatpants, hanging low and loosely around his waist, and no shirt on.

Scratch what I said before._This_was definitely what I needed.

He looked over at the TV. "Friends?" he questioned.

I could barely comprehend what he said - I was too busy staring at his body.

"Huh?" I said, snapping out of it. "Oh. Yeah. You know - the show where they're all-"

"Friends?" he interrupting, smirking.

I smiled and returned my eyes to the TV, which was one of the hardest things I've _ever _done.

Damon slide in the bed. He leaned against the headboard and put the covers over him, up to his waist. I felt like fainting. I was definitely, definitely not going to be able to sleep tonight.

I giggled throughout the entire episode, as per usual. Damon would chuckle, but I think it was mostly because of my reactions, not necessarily because of the show.

When it was over, which wasn't long because I had tuned in about halfway through, another show came on and I yawned. I climbed into covers, laying my head on the pillow and pulling the covers up to my chin. I turned so that my back was facing Damon and my eyes were staring at the wall.

Damon turned the TV off, getting rid of the existing light in the room and it became pitch black. I heard him sink down in the bed, shifting every now and then to get comfortable.

I stayed still for a full minute. Then I flipped over and scooted closer to him, placing my head on his chest and wrapping my arm around his waist.

For a brief second, he didn't react. I cursed myself for even thinking about do that and having the courage to follow through.

But his arm slide around my shoulders and he pulled me in closer. I felt his fingers slide down my head, through my hair, then down my back. He picked up his hand again and repeated; the feeling made my eyes droop and a few seconds later I was fast asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

"Uggghh," I groaned, stretching my arms and yawning. I slowly opened my eyes and stared up at the ceiling, seeing a wooden roof instead of the Styrofoamy crap that was mine. I was confused for about two seconds, then the images of last night replayed in my head and I shuddered.

So _that_ was why my whole body was so sore.

"Owww," I whimpered, when my stomach burned from excessive contact with the bed covers.

I sat up straight and looked around. Damon wasn't in the room. And no, I hadn't forgotten about what happened with him last night.

I brought my legs around the edge of the bed and placed them on the floor. I picked myself up but my foot got caught in the bed sheets and I stumbled onto the floor, creating a large thud sound that reverberated against the walls.

"Fucking," I said angrily, laying helplessly on the floor, wrapped in a cocoon of bed sheets and covers. I might as well just stay on the floor - at least, when I didn't move, my body didn't burn and I couldn't create more destruction by being careless.

The bedroom door opened and I shifted my head up. Damon peeked his head in and stared at me, withering on the floor, covered in his sheets, and a pitiful look on my face.

"I hurt," I muffled.

He smirked. "Did you forget you where in an actual bed and not on a mattress just thrown on the floor?"

"I hate you," I whimpered, hiding under the covers. "I'm hungry and tired and sore-"

"and getting my covers dirty," he finished.

I poked my head out. "You know," I said, "I am not a morning person. I'll warn you now, if you keep making fun of me, this will not end well." I kicked the bed sheets off my legs and slowly picked myself up.

"I need a bowl of Cheerios," I complained, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Someone's grumpy," Damon commented, turning around and walking out the door. I followed him out into the narrow hallway, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. There was a box of Cheerios, unopened and brand new, with a gallon of milk, and a bowl resting on the small wooden table adjacent to the kitchen itself.

I didn't bother to wonder how Damon would know when I woke up or that I'd even want Cheerios and instead sat down on the table, poured myself the biggest possible bowl, and began to basically inhale the delicious food.

I had three bowls. I couldn't help myself - I was starving. And I really loved Cheerios. And I might have loved them even more since Damon bought it for me.

"Where's Stefan and Elena?" I asked, looking over my shoulder just in case they were hiding in the living room or something.

"School," Damon responded, sitting on the seat across the table from me. "You know, that place you never go to anymore."

"I go to school, thank you very much," I countered, "It's just that unfortunate events have prevented me in doing such and thus I take it as an universal sign to never return."

"Dropping out are we?"

"Hello," I said, pointing to my face. "How can I even explain my face to anyone?"

"Why don't you just say you fell?" Damon smirked. "I'm sure everyone will believe that."

"Oh ha ha," I said, rolling my eyes.

It was quiet for about a minute as I stuffed my face and Damon broke off, looking deep in thought.

"So you're really going to drop out?" he questioned.

"Look this is what's going to happen," I said, pushing the empty bowl away from me. "Regardless of whether or not I even pass high school, I'm not going to do anything with my life. I don't have money for college and I'm not exactly down with corporate America, so don't count me in on working in a cubicle all day. I'm probably going to be doing what I'm doing now, buying crappy houses from sketchy people all across America, for the rest of my life. And I don't need a high school diploma to do that."

Damon didn't say anything, he just blinked at me.

"You should be a vampire," he said slyly but there was a hint of something unrecognizable in his tone.

I laughed. "Yeah. Me. A vampire," I said. "No thanks."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to kill people?" I said.

"You killed a vampire last night," he pointed out.

"That's called self defense," I said. "Which is perfectly legal in a court of law."

"You're the perfect candidate," he said, smirking.

"Enlighten me."

"No family, no immediate future plans, and two out of three of your friends are already vampires," he said. "Plus you'd get to be with me everyday for the rest of your life, and let's face it, you really can't find anything better than that."

"Look I know you just want to hang out with me everyday for forever and ever," I said. "And I'm flattered, really. It's quite the compliment, I thank you. But it ain't going to happen."

Damon sighed. "I'll ask again later when you're off your Cheerio high."

I giggled and stood up. "Now take me home so I can change into some of my clothes," I said, holding the edge of his boxers in my fingers. "Your fashion sense is cramping my style."

Damon got up and rolled his eyes. "Why do I put up with you?"

* * *

It was six seven o'clock at night when I heard the first sound. I was eating Kraft Mac & Cheese out of giant bowl, scooted way too close to the TV set, and wearing my flannel pajama pants and an old shirt, when I thought I heard a twig snap from outside. I ignored it; I mean my backyard was equivalent to that of a rainforest so hearing movement outside wasn't that new to me. I was pretty sure all the animals in Mystic Falls had come to live in my backyard and it made me feel like Tarzan sometimes so I didn't mind.

Five minutes later, I felt as if someone was watching me. That eerie feeling like someone is staring right at you from behind, closely watching your every move. I slowly turned my head around, towards the window that was behind me, but saw nothing but the sky outside, eventually growing darker and darker as time went on.

I shrugged and returned to my food. The incident with the vampires happened a couple of days ago and I was probably still freaked out about it. Okay - I _was_ still freaked out. There would be nights where it would be hard for me to sleep and I'd toss and turn because I was afraid they would bust in through the door, even though that could never happen, or that somehow they'd find a way in. It was all pretty stupid really, all irrational thoughts, but it was difficult to get over the fact that I almost died in one of the most gruesome ways.

I heard another noise from behind me, this time almost a heavy breathing sound. My body clenched up and my eyes grew wide. I swiveled my head around, looking through the window, but again, nothing was there.

Okay. That was it. I hadn't had a good night sleep in what felt like forever and I was going crazy either actually hearing or pretending to hear these weird noises outside. They were going to have to ship me to an institution if this kept going on.

I put down my bowl of food and reached over for my cell phone. I looked through the contacts, selected Damon's name, then punched in a simple text message.

**Come over. Preferably now.**

I sent it, got up, and went into my room, throwing all my clothes into the empty cardboard boxes they initially came in. I was sick and tired of feeling as if I was so vulnerable and I needed to go to the one place I felt safest. Nothing of value was in this house so once all my clothes were in the box, I sealed it shut. I put my hairbrush and all those other products in the box with my scrapbook in it, then piled that one on top of the first box.

There was a knock on my door.

I carried the boxes, placed them by the door, looked through the peep hole just to confirm who it was because my paranoia was getting the best of me, then opened the door.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked the second the door was ajar.

I leaned down and picked up the boxes.

"I'm not living here anymore," I said, walking past him and towards his car. It was unlocked and I put the boxes in the trunk of his car.

"Wait - what? Where are you going?" he questioned, coming up to my side.

"I'm not leaving town, jeez, relax," I said.

"Why don't you like living in your house?" he asked again, looked back at the rotting house, then smirked. "Well other than the obvious reasons."

"Hey," I said, pointing my finger at him. "She's been good to me. We've bonded."

"And what broke this bond?"

"I just," I started then stopped, trying to think of what to say. "I just don't feel safe…is all."

Damon narrowed his eyes then looked back at the house. "Is there anyone around?"

"No," I said. "I would know."

"How?"

"Helloooo," I said, this time pointing to my forehead. "People think loud as hell. I could hear them from a mile away." I put my hands on my hips and continued, "Look can I just stay at your house for awhile? I don't want to be, well, alone. I keep hearing things and I can't sleep-"

"Yeah," Damon interrupted. "Come on."

We got into the car and Damon sped off, the car moving quickly in the direction of his house. I leaned against the passenger seat and looked out the window, as images of houses, lawns, and trees zoomed past, all in a blur. Everything was covered in the shadows of the night, creepily creating a scene that I made me glad I was safely in a car with Damon.

Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw one of those shadows move. I abruptly turned my head away from the window and looked straight ahead. I prayed to God that I was just hallucinating.


	18. Chapter 18

"That's not a word."

"I beg to differ."

"Damon, that is _not_ a word."

"Excuse me but I've been around longer so I think I am a little more intelligible then you."

"Damon," I said crossly. "I don't know what world you live on but, I assure you, 'Damons' is not a word."

Damon leaned back and put his hands behind his head, smirking at me obnoxiously. "Yes it is," he countered, continuing to provoke me. "Damons - as is more then one Damon. Which might as well be a synonym for an amazing, life-changing event."

"Oh my God," I groaned, putting my face on my hand. "Why did I suggest this game?"

"I don't know either," he said, taking a swig of his whiskey. "The alcohol makes it more fun though. I hate board games." He poured himself another glass and took another drink.

"We should have just played Candy Land," I said, taking my hand away from my face.

"If you had made me play Candy Land, I would have made you sleep outside," Damon said with a smirk.

"You never even gave it a chance," I complained.

"The day we play Candy Land is the day-"

"You wear something other than black you goth?" I interrupted, now it being my turn to grin devilishly.

"First you undermine my intelligence and now you insult me," Damon said, getting up off the floor of his bedroom, where a Scrabble board was placed in between us and I was sitting cross legged, eating a fruit popsicle.

"Hey!" I said, "where are you going? We're not done here."

"If you excuse me," Damon said, "I am quite hungry. I'm going to find something to eat." He smiled and winked at me.

"Gross," I said, throwing my tiles into the game board box. "But you must admit defeat before you leave because I'll be lonely and the only thing that can get me through that is knowing that I beat you at Scrabble."

Damon walked past me and grabbed his leather jacket off the hook of the coat rack. "You beat me Ava," he said, turning towards me and sliding in his jacket. "I will never be able to recover from this monumental loss." He cocked his head to the side. "I don't even think I'll be able to play another board game for the rest of my life."

He laughed at his own joke and turned the doorknob, opening the door. "Don't mess up my room," he said, his head turned back. Then he walked out the door and shut it behind him.

Like I _ever_ have messed up his room before.

I had been staying with Damon for two days and, excuse me as I try not to sound overly ecstatic here, but they were the best two days of my life. Everyday we would hang out, just doing completely random things that somehow became super fun with him around, and then I would fall asleep in his arms, on his super comfy bed, covered in silk sheets. There was high definition TV, unlimited food, a giant pool out back, and a giant bath tub. I felt like I had moved into a royal mansion and was constantly getting pampered. Dear God, I _loved_to be pampered.

I got up and decided to take a bath. I probably had about a good thirty minutes till Damon came back. I swiveled around and walked inside his bathroom, closing the door behind me. I looked over by the bath tub and saw that I was almost out of shampoo.

Great.

Cursing myself for not taking Damon up on his offer yesterday to go to the market, I looked around, trying to find a random spare bottle that might have been cooped up somewhere. I checked the shower, but saw nothing, and I looked on the bathroom counters and had the same luck.

Sighing, I kneeled down and opened the cabinet below. There was hardly anything in here and I had almost given up searching when something balled up in the corner caught my eye. Being the incredibly noisy person I was, I reached over and grabbed it, pulling it out of the darkness so I could inspect it in the light.

The second I saw it my mind went blank.

It was my shirt, the one I wore when I got attacked by those vampires and had thrown away when I changed in here the same night. My first instinctive thought was that I had missed the garbage can but the garbage wasn't even _in_ the cabinet; it was by the side of it, sitting on the floor motionless.

So then why was it in here?

Another thought came into my head - Damon had kept it. But to me that was preposterous. It was just an old, destroyed shirt.

But it was_ my_ shirt. Damon had kept _my_ shirt. He wanted something that had belonged to _me_. Again I was confused but my mind kept spitting out all these explanations that I just couldn't believe.

Maybe he likes me as much as I like him.

But no, I thought, shaking my head, there was no way of that. I mean, the way I felt towards Damon was surreal. Every time he looked at me, touched me, I felt my heart flutter. I loved the way he said my name or just smirked at me. I liked that he smelled like Old Spice and was always quick with a sly comment.

I always wondered how he thought about me. No matter how many times he held me at night, stroked my hair, or put up with my ridiculous bullshit, I could not even imagine that he would feel the same way about me. Call it low self-confidence but to me, someone like Damon could never fall for someone like me.

But as I held my shirt in my hands, I felt a tinge of courage. I don't know how long I stared at it laying motionless in my hands or how long I was deep in thought, but it felt like a second later I heard the bedroom door open. I heard someone walk in, the crinkle of a leather jacket, and footsteps walking towards the bathroom door.

There was a soft knock. "Ava?" I heard Damon ask.

I picked up my head and stared at myself in the mirror, my mouth gaping open and my eyes wide. Did he? Did he feel like his entire body tingled when I touched him? Did he feel short of breath when I would just randomly look his way?

There was another knock. "Ava?" Damon asked again. "Are you in there?"

Maybe he did. But he was never going to do anything about it. And how could I live like that, always playing these games of chicken or brave, never choosing the latter?

"If you're dead, say something," Damon said.

I acted quickly before the courage could slip away. I threw the shirt underneath the counter and closed the cabinet doors. My hands were shaking and my heart was ramming against my chest. I turned quickly, opening the bathroom door.

But I froze when I saw Damon standing there, his arm raised, his hand balled into a fist, ready to knock again. He raised his eyebrow when saw me and slowly dropped his arm.

"What's up with you?" Damon asked.

I looked down at the floor and let out a giant breath of air. What was I thinking? What was I even planning on doing in the first place? I was crazy, someone whisk me away to the mental institution.

Damon rolled his eyes then walked over to his long mirror. He stood in front of it and began to unbutton his shirt. "Sometimes I wonder about you," he said, looking at his reflection and he popped open each button, slowly moving down.

I stood motionless in the bathroom doorway, still looking at the wooden floor beneath me. A thousand thoughts were swirling around in my head as if it was a blender and none of my thoughts finished or made sense. I hated myself for thinking that maybe, just maybe, it was possible for Damon to think that way about me. I mean look at me and look at Damon.

I finally looked back up at Damon. He was shirtless and playing with the couple strands of his hair that covered his forehead, looking at the mirror.

I don't know how but I took a step forward. Then another and another, and sooner then I knew it, I was right beside Damon. He looked away from the mirror and faced me. He waited expectantly, for me to say something or do something.

In a split second I pushed myself on my tippy toes and pressed my lips against his. My hands were placed on his cheeks because I was afraid he'd pull away. I felt the sensation of electricity course through my body. The hairs on my neck and arms stood up and every part of me was tingling with the rush and excitement of it. His lips were smooth and it seemed like they moved in a synchronous movement with mine.

I yanked myself away, suddenly overcome with embarrassment. My face turned five different shades of red and I refused to look at Damon in the face. The feeling of when I kissed him was beyond anything I had ever experienced but right now it was being overshadowed by how stupid I felt.

"Well then," I said awkwardly. "I think I'll, um, go to sleep."

I turned around and took one step forward. That was as far as I got. Damon's hand gripped my wrist and he flung me back towards him.

His lips came crashing down on mine. My arms were around his neck and his hands were on either side of my jaw, pulling me closer to him. It felt like our lips were magnets and we couldn't separate. The sensations came again and this time, they overtook me.


	19. Chapter 19

My mouth stretched into a grin and I bit down on my bottom lip to suppress my giggle. A small kiss was placed gently on my right hip. Another on my left. Then my heart fluttered as a kiss landed on my stomach.

I couldn't help it - a little giggle escaped my mouth and I wiggled free of Damon's grasp, turning over on my side. He snuggled his way up and placed his arms on either side of me. I peeked open an eye, saw him smirking down at me, then threw the covers over my head, squealing.

Damon laughed and ripped off the covers, accurately placing kiss on my jaw and cheeks while I tried to wrestle him away. He finally wrapped his arms around me and they became rock-like, so strong that I couldn't break free. I opened my eyes and he was resting on top of me, yet he was so light despite being so muscular. His fingers traced the side of my face, then moved back up to lightly toss my bangs away from my eyes.

"Ava Ava Ava," he said smirking. "What have you done to me?"

"Must I really replay what just happened a few minutes ago?" I questioned, popping a smirk of my own.

Damon chuckled and kissed my lips softly. "Oh please do," he said in between breaths. His fingers traveled to my bare sides and they began to tickle me.

I shrieked and squirmed, trying desperately to get loose as my stomach clenched up from the sensation. My hips kicked up and my legs flailed around crazily but Damon didn't stop. I flipped over sporadically and fell straight out of bed, taking the covers with me.

I hit the floor with a thud and gave out a giant "Ooof!"

Damon began to laugh hysterically. His voice was giant and his laughter shook the walls of the house. He rolled over, curling into a ball and holding his sides as his laughter became louder and louder. I swear I even heard him wheeze.

I sat up and blew the bangs out of my face, glaring at Damon who was enjoying my demise way too much. He looked behind him, took one look at me, and began to laugh harder. My cheeks flushed and my eyes sent daggers in his direction.

I picked myself up, dragging the blanket around me to hide my naked body, and smiled evilly, as a total inappropriate and cruel plan formed in my head. I brought my hands together and began to tap my fingertips together, my smile growing more mischievous.

I ran over to him, raised my hand high, and swung it directly at Damon's ass. There was a giant snap as flesh connected to flesh then an instant stinging feeling covering my entire hand.

Damon screeched one of the girliest yelps I've ever heard and I almost started to cry because I was laughing so hard. Damon rolled over and I screamed, holding onto the covers as I tried to run away. I didn't even make it across the room - he flung me over his shoulder and threw me back on the bed, placing a deep kiss on my lips, silencing me.

* * *

My smile widened as Damon gave out a small snore. The side of his face was against the pillow, his eyes tight shut as he slept peacefully, and his mouth crooked. His hair was brushed into his eyes and every now and then, he gave out a little grunt or stirred in his sleep, his mouth would slightly open, then close, and he would lick his lips.

It was_ so_ hard to leave that. It was like someone was dangling crack in front of me, free of charge, money and conscious-wise.

And I, unfortunately, had to leave Damon for the hell on Earth that was indeed school.

I know I had said I was dropping out but something in my gut told me that my parents were watching down on me and disapprovingly shaking their heads. Their daughter dropping out of school, sleeping and living with a murderous vampire, almost getting killed by other vampires, and still eating Cheerios with Mountain Dew in the morning? I had to eliminate at least one of those. And it was not going to be the last one.

I carefully lifted Damon's arm off of me and quietly rolled out of bed. I jumped into my jeans, threw on a shirt, then exited his room, silently scurrying down the hallway and into the living room.

Stefan was there, standing in the doorway, a smile on his face as he swung his car keys with his fingers.

"I had to admit," Stefan said, throwing me my book bag, which he had retrieved earlier from my old house, "I didn't think you were going to show."

"The thought of being in school was just_ so_ enticing," I responded dully, then flashed him a quick smile.

"Yes who can deny themselves the pleasure of doing work about nonsense for seven hours?"

My smile turned into a lopsided grin and Stefan opened the front door for me, stepping aside so that I could exit first. I curtsied, thanking him for his chivalry, then walked outside. Stefan was about to shut the front door and lock it when a sleepy yell came from within.

"Avvvvvvvvvvaaaaaa," Damon yelled, no doubt still in his bed and making no effort to get out of it anytime soon. It was way too early for him. Hell - it was way too early for _anyone_.

Stefan looked over his shoulder at me, his eyebrow raised. "Did you tell him you were going to school today?"

"Definitely not," I said, throwing my book bag over my shoulder. "And we should leave before he finds out."

Stefan chuckled and we hopped into his car. A second later, we were halfway down the driveway, leaving a half-awake and very confused Damon behind.

* * *

I hadn't been in school for two weeks. The normal person would find it quite difficult to return back, especially if they had no valid (or sane) reason as to why they were absent for so long. They probably wouldn't even be allowed back in. Yet when you have a friend who's a vampire and can make people do whatever they please, life just becomes that much more simpler.

Stefan had a pleasant conversation with the school attendance secretary for about a few minutes, which ultimately lead to my number of absences to decrease from about twenty to two. The only awkward experiences I encountered throughout the day were the confused faces of my teachers as I waltzed back into the classroom. They seemed none too pleased that I had decided that it was time for school again.

My Calculus teacher had tried to embarrass me by making me do a newly learned equation on the board in front of the class, hoping that when I had failed she would feel more self-confident in her teaching skills and thus feel as if she actually contributed to society. I ended up reading her mind and getting the formula right, which made her give the class double the amount of regular homework. I then proceeded to give her the middle finger when her back was turned.

What could I say? Damon was starting to rub off on me.

I was fading in and out of History class, my head leaning against the wall and my eyes slowly drooping when an office aide walked into the classroom, stopping Mr. Saltzman's lecture short. I took it as a sign of God that it was nap time and this time fully closed my eyes.

"Ava?" Mr. Saltzman's voice rang.

Oh shit - I had been caught.

I fluttered opened my eyes and gave a weak, pathetic smile.

Mr. Saltzman raised the white pass in his hand. "You're leaving home early."

I snapped my head forward, shocked and slightly dazed. Er, _what?_ I had never gone home early, mostly because no one ever been available to get me.

"Uh," I said, trying to figure out if this was some sort of office mistake, "Okay."

I slowly got up, took the pass, and made my way towards the front office. Maybe they had written down the wrong name, heard incorrectly, or someone was just deciding to be funny.

I opened the front office door and stepped inside the small room. Still reeling with what could be a possible reason, my mind stopped when I saw Damon flirting with the elderly secretary behind the counter. When I entered, he stopped and looked over at me, a mischievous smirk present on his face.

He came over to me and placed the back of his hand on my forehead. "Hmm," he said, "you're warm. We're going to need a lot of Aspirin tonight aren't we Mrs. Moore?"

"Yes, yes," Mrs. Moore said happily. "Just like I said before, make sure she takes two aspirin and stays in bed as much as she can."

"I like that last part," he said, leaning into me so that the comment was only heard between us.

I grinned and shoved him back. He caught my wrist and pulled himself back.

"Is aggression a sign of the flu too Mrs. Moore?" he questioned, turning to look back at her.

"Well I don't know-"

"Thank you Mrs. Moore!" I interrupted, grabbing Damon's forearm and dragging him out of the office and school.

Once outside, I stopped and turned around. I blew the bangs out of my face and focused on Damon, who seemed more then pleased.

"What are you doing?" I questioned.

"Oh relax," he said nonchalantly. He came to my side, swiveled my around, and placed an arm over my shoulders as he guided the way to his car parked in the street.

"You know I need to go to school," I commented.

"What ever happened to dropping out, getting a GED, and spending every glorious minute of your life with me?"

"The sudden realization of the last part," I played.

"You're breaking my heart."

"Damon," I said, stopping our pace. I stood in front of him and held onto his jacket. "Listen to me. This is going to be really hard for you to hear."

Damon slowly lifted up an eyebrow and I tried not to melt and keep my composure.

"Some people out in this messed up world," I said, "their lives don't revolve around you." Damon opened his mouth but I cut him off, "No no! Please Damon - I know it's hard to comprehend but stay with me here." I let go of his jacket and patted him on the chest with my hands. "It's hard to sink in. I'll give you some time."

I walked away, opening the passenger side door of his car, and hopping in. Damon joined me a second later, getting into the driver's seat and starting the car.

"Just for that," he said, "I'm not taking you to McDonalds."

"You're heartless."

"And good-looking, don't forget about that."

A grin grew on my face and I leaned back in the seat. Damon looked over at me, a smirk dabbling on his lips. I blew him a kiss.


End file.
